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  • Battle for format

    WPS Agency, Russia
    DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
    October 29, 2008 Wednesday

    BATTLE FOR FORMAT

    by Vadim Dubnov

    IS ANYBODY READY FOR A COMPROMISE IN THE NAME OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH
    CONFLICT SETTLEMENT?; It does not appear as if anybody wanted a
    solution to the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh.


    Russian and Armenian presidents' enthusiasm over the steady increase
    of trade turnover between these two countries failed to mislead
    observers concerning exactly what Dmitry Medvedev and Serj Sargsjan
    met to discuss. They met in Yerevan to discuss Nagorno-Karabakh.

    The future of Karabakh negotiations was determined by the so called
    Madrid Principles before the Russian-Georgian shooting war. Armenia
    was expected to withdraw from the occupied districts of Azerbaijan
    beyond the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan to lift siege of
    the border i.e. front line. Finally, the Madrid Principles stood for a
    referendum no concerned party believed in then and believes in now.

    Now that Russia and American chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group have
    nothing to say to each other, the chances of the Azerbaijani-Armenian
    conflict settlement appear to be illusory.

    And yet, no constructive alternatives are put forth much less
    discussed. It is clear as well that not even the Western community has
    any bright ideas to come up with.

    Nobody seems interested in Karabakh conflict settlement. Any decision
    means a compromise, and a compromise is neither what Sargsjan nor his
    Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev wants. Neither do international
    brokers want a compromise, because any compromise may put into motion
    a whole new scenario and a new arrangement of forces. What with Iran
    not far and Turkey becoming definitely active in the region despite
    its own domestic political troubles, it is the last thing the world
    powers want.

    "The last 14 years accustomed us to one set of rules," a Karabakh
    politician said. "As for what the new rules will be like, nobody can
    say anything with any degree of accuracy."

    Source: Gazeta, October 27, 2008, p. 6
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