VK editor-in-chief answering readers' questions

Alexei Vlasov on recent terrorist attacks in the North Caucasus and the meeting of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan at the Victory anniversary festivities.Karim (Moscow): How do you interpret the holiday terrorist attacks in the North Caucasus? Is the fight against terrorism fruitless?

Alexei Vlasov: Every time such events are reported, there emerge speculations concerning the inability of local and central authorities to establish law and order. It is necessary to understand that the problem is so grave that the matter cannot to be resolved by a couple
of successful operations. While the basis for terrorism remains in the North Caucasus, bombs will go off. Those now remaining in the underground are unlikely to compromise with the authorities.
Incidental people have withdrawn from active struggle and reverted to private civilian life. They had such an opportunity. Therefore I do not consider talk concerning the wrong kind of information coverage of the situation appropriate. Now it is very important to avert the
radicalization of the frame of mind of the young people of the region. This is the priority task among other matters. All other problems can be solved through more efficient actions on the part of the security structures, but the youth are an issue of extreme delicacy, and it is
among the youngs that terrorists recruit followers and cultivate feelings of discontent. It is necessary to fight those who catch hold of men?s souls and to avoid going from one extreme to another.

Andrei Zykov (St. Petersburg): It is possible that on May 8th a meeting will take place in Moscow between Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev. Can continuation of the dialogue on the Nagorno-Karabakh problem be expected in the near future?

Alexei Vlasov: As far as I understand, the meeting was made possible in the framework of the Victory anniversary festivities. However it is unlikely it will have any impact on advancing the settlement process. At the moment, all the major players in the settlement process are, as
sports commentators say, playing defensively, failing to reach the ball. In this case, the ball is the chance to announce one's position distinctly. Washington and Yerevan provide a striking example of this.
American diplomacy is failing to break the impasse concerning the problem of ratification of the Armenian-Turkish protocols. American diplomacy is definitely less active in holding dialogue with Baku than Russian diplomacy. But as for Russian progress, it would be better not flatter ourselves. It has been achieved not so much due to our power, as due to mistakes made by other centers of power. So, we should not expect any breakthrough in the forthcoming months.