It seems that the Sochi meeting had a result and led to a reduction of violence on both sides, which is good. In an interview with Voice of America this was said by the senior researcher at the Council of American Foreign Policy Stephen Blank, commenting on the results of the meeting between the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia.
According to him, no one expected real progress from this meeting. "I expected less because Russia is not interested in peace. No one else has played an active role, so there is no external pressure on the governments to achieve peace," says Blank.
According to him, Russia is not interested in the war as well. "It wants to save the controlled tension. So, Russia is selling weapons to both Armenia and Azerbaijan, with the troops on the territory of Armenia. The unresolved conflict enables Moscow to remain a dominant force in the region," said the expert.
Referring to the escalation of tension on the front lines in recent days, Blank said that the likelihood of recurrence of incidents and even war is quite high. "Both sides are armed. This is always a chance for the outbreak of hostilities. "In case of war, both Armenia and Azerbaijan will lose. “The only winner will be Moscow. Russia at any time directly or by means of threats can intervene and draw these countries into its orbit. Hence, the conflict should be resolved as soon as possible.
The increased tension in Karabakh is accompanied by large-scale pressure on civil society in Azerbaijan. Police have arrested several prominent human rights defenders. What impact will this have on the relations with the West? In answering this question, Blank noted that it takes away from Azerbaijan's relations with the West.
"In Washington, there are those, who consider Azerbaijan a dictatorship, under the influence of Russia not having any value for the U.S. In this there is a fault of the USA, too.
We must take seriously the security interests of Azerbaijan and, in particular, the Karabakh issue. If we want to have arrests of activists and human rights defenders in Azerbaijan stopped, and the political climate improved, we have to discuss with Azerbaijan not only human rights, but also the national security. Only in this case, they will listen to us," said Stephen Blank. -03D04-
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