There is an Agreement between Russia and Azerbaijan: Styopa Safaryan

Styopa Safaryan, founder and head of the Armenian Institute of International and Security Affairs (AIISA), touching upon the meeting of the three presidents launched in St. Petersburg, stated that it was organized to satisfy the Kremlin’s political ambitions,

“It’s perceptible, that at the St. Petersburg meeting Russia’s president succeeded to legitimate the trilateral meetings organized and to be organized under his umbrella. It is particularly mentioned in the joint statement of the presidents, and unfortunately, we need to confess, that we returned to 2008, when the format of trilateral meeting was initiated by Russia, during which Putin’s/ Medvedev’s/ Lavrov’s plans have matured regarding settlement of Artsakh issue. These meetings are problematic in all respects: not only regarding implementation of liabilities assumed formerly, but also regarding the very negotiation format and non-participation of NKR in the process.

Accordingly, until now we’re dealing with tension, not decreasing inside the MG, when Russia will attempt to put forward it’s separate agenda with the format of trilateral meetings, and on the other hand, we have OSCE process, which, first and foremost, considers implementation of agreements reached in Vienna of utmost importance.”

According to S.Safaryan, we can’t have any expectations, that NKR will participate in meetings organized under the umbrella of Russia’s president, as according to the expert, in 2008 Dmitri Medvedev in Baku signed a declaration on friendship and strategic partnership with Aliyev, which included joint approaches on conflict settlement, “First, settle the issue within Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territorial integrity, second, Russia should exert immediate efforts regarding conflict settlement, third, provide safe and voluntary return of migrants to their places of residence, and this means return of territories. And the forth issue refers deploying a peacekeeping mission, in which Russia is interested, and Stepanakert officially stated, that it doesn’t intend to see any peacekeeping mission  in the territory of NKR. Accordingly, not only written obligations between Russia and Azerbaijan, but also statements reflecting Russia’s interests, made from Stepenakert, exclude that we may react to the participation of NKR authorities in any meeting organized under the umbrella of Russian president. The only hope is OSCE process, as the Co-Chairs hinted confirmation of negotiation format.”

The political analyst stressed a few crucial facts: Russia is particularly active when presidential elections are held in the U.S., and they focus on internal issues, “Russia may use it, and it’s not excluded, that it allowed Azerbaijan to initiate military operations and the best moment will come for its mediation.”