The first week of the new co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, James Warlick, who delivered President Barack Obama's call for direct dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia, resulted in another deterioration of the situation associated with visits by citizens of the European Union to the occupied territories of Nagorno-Karabakh. On Friday, Bundestag deputy Jürgen Klimke visited Karabakh, his actions have already been condemned by the ruling German CDU/CSU faction.
In a situation where the contradictions are growing, VK asked experts from Azerbaijan and Armenia, Professor Fikret Sadykhov and director of the Caucasus Institute Alexander Iskandaryan, to talk about who in the present situation should make the first step towards resolving the conflict.
Sadykhov primarily emphasized that Azerbaijan has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to cooperate constructively by adopting the principles of the agreements and negotiations in Prague and Madrid. "There are the updated "Madrid principles". What is their essence? The problem is solved in two stages. At first, the occupied Azerbaijani territories are freed. At the second stage of the negotiation process, refugees return to their homes, and the negotiation process on the Nagorno- Karabakh conflict is conducted on the basis of te norms and principles of international law," the expert reminded of the existing diplomatic conditions for a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
Iskandaryan, in turn, drew attention to the fact that a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will move forward only when both sides are willing to make concessions. "You know, it depends what you call a settlement. Naturally, if tomorrow somebody proposed that the whole of Karabakh is deported, and everything is free, and Azerbaijanis can have the land, of course, Azerbaijan would agree. Or if somebody was to offer Armenia that the independence of Karabakh is proclaimed and recognized by Azerbaijan, Armenia would also agree. But it's not serious, nobody will make such an offer. A settlement entails real concessions from both sides. There will be losses. Azerbaijan is not ready for the extent of losses that Azerbaijan would suffer, Armenia is not ready for the extent of losses that Armenia would suffer. The same applies to Karabakh. Accordingly, any real settlement does not seem likely today," the analyst explained his opinion.
