Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents’ meeting in Paris unlikely to produce something new
Nothing new is expected from Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Ilkham Aliev’s meeting on December 1 in Paris, Richard Giragosian, the Founding Director of the Regional Studies Center, is quoted by Novosti-Armenia as saying Tuesday at a news conference. He expects no new proposals.
“The Azerbaijani side, with which Armenia is negotiating, is not ready for peace talks,” he said. “The opposite – Azerbaijan’s bellicose rhetoric against Armenia and Karabakh will only intensify, since in fact, the countries are in the state of an undeclared war.”
He said that Armenia remains steadfast in its determination to settle the matter by peaceful means, while Azerbaijan jeopardizes regional security.
“Azerbaijan is disappointed with the lack of any progress in the talks, which is due to its uncompromising stance,” Giragosian said.
In his opinion, Karabakh conflict settlement is a long-lasting process, and there are all grounds for thinking that things will grow worse.
Karabakh conflict broke out in 1988 when Karabakh, mainly populated by Armenians, declared its independence from Azerbaijan.
On December 10, 1991, a few days after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a referendum took place in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the majority of the population (99.89%) voted for secession from Azerbaijan.
Afterwards, large-scale military operations began. As a result, Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven regions adjacent to it.
Some 30,000 people were killed in this war and about one million people fled their homes.
On May 12, 1994, the Bishkek cease-fire agreement put an end to the military operations.
Тalks brokered by OSCE Minsk Group are being held over peaceful settlement of the conflict. The group is co-chaired by USA, Russia and France. --0-----