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Russian Military Expert Suggest to Resolve Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict through Trust

Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict Materials 18 June 2007 18:09 (UTC +04:00)

Russia, Moscow /corr. Trend R.Agayev / The 'frozen conflicts' on the territory of the South Caucasus, especially the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, may be resolved through re-establishing trust between the conflicting sides. Azerbaijan and Armenia need to re-build warm and trusting relations thus, seeking mutual solutions, said the President of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems of Russia, Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov .

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries appeared in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenia has occupied 20% of the Azerbaijani lands including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. Since 1992 to the present time, these territories have been under Armenian occupation. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a cease-fire agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France and USA) are holding peaceful negotiations.     

Ivashov considers that pressure upon the two countries should be eliminated, however it is a necessity that the countries select a positive path on the discussion, avoiding accusations. "I participated in the talks to resolve this problem within the Council of State and Governmental Heads, Defense Ministers, yet it was tough to predict successes amongst the presidents. There is and there will be no third party to resolve the conflict. Azerbaijan and Armenia should settle the conflict themselves in a civilized manner," the expert considers.

According to the politician, a lot of time is used to, approach their positions, and connect people, politicians, military and business people and ordinary citizens, to a conference.

Resolving the problem through political and military pressure and through the attracting of third party's is unthinkable, because such problems are not resolved by these means.

The politician thinks that presently the heads of both sides need to begin the process from a fresh page, putting the mutual accusations aside. "The security threats for any of the sides will never lead to the conflict solution, if the threats arise from the conflicting sides themselves. The external threats for both countries may delay the settlement of the problem," Ivashov said.

In addition, Ivashov thinks the Russian President's proposal in June for the joint use of the Russian-leased Azerbaijan Gabala Radar Station with the US will not affect the process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. According to him, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved as soon as possible, but resolving it through principles or approaches from other spheres is very difficult. Ivashov considers that presently this conflict may be resolved gradually through establishing stability in the relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, development of commercial and economic, military and technical and even military co-operation, etc.

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