Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 25
By Matanat Nasibova – Trend:
The Davos meeting of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan primarily showed that, at this stage, the Armenian government lacks a clear political line when it comes to the negotiation process of the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Evgeny Mikhailov, famous Russian TV host and expert in international issues told Trend.
An informal meeting between President Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan took place on January 22 during the Davos World Economic Forum.
"It is evident that Ilham Aliyev seemed more confident and came forward with a more comprehensive resolution plan than Nikol Pashinyan. This fact indicates that Pashinyan doesn't have much of a choice, especially in light of recent comments by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs on the need to take measures to prepare the population of the conflicting sides to peace. Accordingly, I dare to suggest that the Davos meeting is the beginning of a real resolution of the Karabakh conflict," the expert said.
Mikhailov noted that he considers it far from being a coincidence that there was a criticism of Pashinyan in multiple media outlets, as well as hints at him ostensibly giving up.
"Clearly, Russia is also putting maximum effort now to help Baku, as the Russophobic sentiments in Yerevan are only gaining momentum," said Mikhailov.
The meeting in Davos was preceded by talks between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia on January 16 in Paris with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group, which were positively assessed by the international community, including officials of the European Union, the UN, as well as statements on supporting the formation of trust mechanisms between the conflicting sides.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
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