Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec.20th / Trend, E. Tariverdiyeva /
A pause that emerged around the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 2012 will continue next year, North South Political Centre General Director and member of Trend Expert Council Alexei Vlasov believes.
"One should not expect any breakthroughs in the settlement process. First, because of domestic policy: presidential elections are scheduled in both Azerbaijan and Armenia for next year, therefore it is not the best time to make huge critical decisions on the matter" Vlasov told Trend on Thursday.
He also said that mediators are now reformatting their participation in the negotiation process, as Russia made some changes in its activity in the direction of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict after Vladimir Putin came to power.
"After the Kazan meeting, meetings in the "two plus one" format (with participation of the Russian leader) are no longer being held", Vlasov said.
He said "the EU is facing the same obstacles which helped cause the suspension of Russia's participation in the Nagorno-Karabakh process".
"There are updated Madrid principles, but the sequence of their fulfillment is not clear, and it is unclear what tools will be used by any of the mediators to encourage the two parties to make mutual concessions," he said.
Now is not the time to talk of a coming breakthrough in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict's resolution, Vlasov said.
Conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20% 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 peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions regarding the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.