U.S, Washington, Nov. 14 / Trend News N.Bogdanova /

Former Special Assistant to US president Mark Medish believes the adjustment of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict doesn't depend only on the conflict sides.

"As somebody who worked on the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations during the Clinton Administration, I have long believed that a mutually acceptable settlement is within reach, but unfortunately opportunistic political calculations in various capitals have blocked it" former Senior Director for Eurasian Affairs on the US National Security Council 2000-2001, who currently is a senior adviser at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said in an interview with Trend News.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan lost all of Nagorno-Karabakh except for Shusha and Khojali in December 1991. In 1992-93, Armenian armed forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and seven districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. -- are currently holding peace negotiations.

Speaking about the stability conditions in South Caucasus former US president's assistant stressed that "Basically all conflicts sides have understood that the path of confrontation is extremely dangerous and not in anybody's interest".

He also noticed that "the scars are deep and anxiety remains high. The consequences of recklessly unfreezing a frozen conflict, as Georgia and Russia did last year, could be like Pandora's Box. Therefore efforts must be re-doubled for negotiated, peaceful resolution of all regional disputes, with the help of international mediators as much as needed".

Mr. Medish also commented on U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon's doubts that without progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict solution, the Turkish-Armenian protocols will be ratified by the Turkish Parliament.

"I find it difficult to predict the behavior of the US Congress and therefore I would be careful to make statements about other countries' parliaments. In any case, the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement is to be welcomed as a step toward regional stabilization and integration" - analyst mentioned.

Regarding the cooperation between US and Russia in security sphere, he said that "the "reset" means that the US and Russia are exploring ways to reduce recent tensions through concrete areas of cooperation".

According to analyst, the most obvious areas are a new nuclear arms reductions agreement, cooperation on Afghanistan, and a revised approach to missile defense.

"It seems to me that the Azerbaijan's Gabala facility is still a relevant option for consideration, however the focus has also shifted to the Aegis sea-based system"- he added.