The Minsk memorandum, which has been formulated, amongst others, by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2011, was and still remains the only peaceful and legitimate algorithm to achieve peace in the South Caucasus, a member of the Presidential Council on development of civil society and human rights Maksim Shevchenko said in an exclusive interview to a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza.
The expert recalled that this document contains three paragraphs. "The first is the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Then the return of Azerbaijani refugees and their descendants who were expelled from the Nagorno-Karabakh territory, but I stress that it should be carried out symmetrically, and Armenians should have the same opportunity to return to the territory of Azerbaijan – Baku, Sumgait, to other places where they lived for centuries. They should also have an opportunity to return. Of course, it is the most difficult moment, but it is a part that can be carried out with the help of strong external control and the creation of monitoring groups. The third is a referendum on the Nagorno-Karabakh's future. Nagorno-Karabakh may become an independent state, an autonomous region as a part of Azerbaijan, or it will have a different status. It seems to me that this is possible only after the compliance of all three steps," he said.
"Now the Americans are trying to keep themselves aloof from the conflict. To raise the Armenian theme with a very strong Armenian lobby in the US on the threshold of elections means to risk: if you support the Armenians you will lose your positions in Turkey and Azerbaijan. If you are against Armenians you will lose positions in California and Florida, key states with a strong Armenian diaspora, which may support the Republicans against the Democrats. That is why Americans prefer to stay silent, keep quiet and only chant that peace is better than war," the analyst believes.
In addition, he shared his views on how the Russian mass media have covered recent events. "The situation has divided the journalistic community. I try to take a middle position and maintain the position of the memorandum. It's hard to blame my colleagues who belong to one or the other nation – Armenian or Azerbaijani – and take one or the other position. I try to not to do this. I believe that politics and political assessments should not be associated with ethnic or some tribal preferences. We should stick to balanced positions,'' Maksim Shevchenko concluded.
All the border posts of Azerbaijan on the night of April 2 were subjected to intense fire from large-caliber weapons, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and artillery units of the Armenian Armed Forces. In addition, a number of shots were fired at settlements near the frontline, densely populated by civilians.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts (20% of the Azerbaijan's territory) are still occupied by the Armenian armed forces.
In May 1994 the parties reached a ceasefire agreement during negotiations, which are still continuing under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group and co-chairs Russia, France and the US.
The UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions hasn't been carried out by Armenia yet.
