Public figures discussed Karabakh

Baku / 08.08.19 / Turan: The next step of the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, to escalate the conflict around Nagorno-Karabakh caused a negative reaction in Azerbaijan, which manifested itself at the official and public levels.

On 5 August Pashinyan announced in Karabakh that the ultimate goal of Armenia is to unite with Karabakh. Thus, he called into question the negotiation process within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group and the impossibility of compromise with Azerbaijan.

This situation on August 8 was the subject of discussion by a number of public and political figures in Baku. The meeting was attended by: Gubad Ibadoglu, Ali Kerimli, Ilham Ismail, Gultakin Hajiyev, Ahmed Alili, and Mehman Aliyev.

During the exchange of views, the state of the negotiation process, approaches and interests of interested parties (parties to the conflict and mediators), the situation in Armenia and the reasons that prompted Pashinyan to torpedo negotiations, the position of official Baku, public reaction, aspects of regional security and Azerbaijan"s relations with various power centers were examined.

The meeting participants expressed a common opinion on a number of issues that could improve the political background around the settlement of the conflict. For example, the intensification of relations with the EU, the rejection of an authoritarian system of government, the active involvement of civil society in the search for a solution.

None of the participants objected to the thesis that success in resolving the Karabakh conflict lies through the establishment of democracy in Azerbaijan, which implies involving the whole society in the process.

The meeting participants agreed on the need to develop a package of actions towards resolving the conflict with the participation of a wider expert community. -0-