Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan's statement on the withdrawal of Armenia from the negotiation process on the settlement of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh was aimed at the desired impression on the public opinion within their own country and the US government, former Assistant Secretary of State the United States for the South Caucasus, the former US ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza, said in an interview with a 'Vestnik Kavkaza' correspondent.
"At home he tries to soften the 'anger and frustration due to the recent loss of the Azerbaijani territory that was previously occupied by the Armenian armed forces, as well as a fear of the Armenian people due to the fact that the previous status quo was changed by the superior military forces of Azerbaijan,'' he said.
"On foreign policy arena President Sargsyan tries to call Washington for help, preventing Moscow from solving the critical diplomatic issues, which are necessary for the resumption of the peace process after intense and shocking days of armed clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan,'' the expert assumed.
"It is possible that President of Armenia has succeeded in the second point. On April 25th US Secretary of State John Kerry finally urged Presidents Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. That statement was announced after weeks of silence on the part of the top echelon of politicians in Washington. In addition, the White house has never made any statements about the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan that lasts more than 20 years, while Russian President Vladimir Putin, foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu fully filled the diplomatic vacuum that remained after the co-chair Minsk group of the United States," said Bryza.
Recall, on the night of April 2 all frontier positions of Azerbaijan were exposed to heavy fire from large-caliber weapons, mortars, grenade launchers and guns. In addition, Azerbaijani settlements near the front line, densely populated by civilians, were shelled.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20% of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US, are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
