Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Sept. 22 / Trend U.Sadikhova /
The Arab states of the Persian Gulf should pay more attention to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the non-resolution of which has a negative impact on the entire Middle East, the director of the Research and Development Department of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis (INEGMA), Theodore Karasik, has said.
"The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict affects the entire region [Middle East] and is associated with the political situation in the region and security issues," Karasik said at the Center for Strategic Studies of the Azerbaijani President in a lecture called "Security of the Persian Gulf and Azerbaijan: a view from the UAE [United Arab Emirates]."
The people of the Persian Gulf should be informed about the realities of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through a major media campaign, he said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Karasik believes territorial disputes in the Persian Gulf are similar to the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Sovereignty, the threat to external borders and terrorist activities are today a common problem in Azerbaijan and the Persian Gulf States, he said.
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