YEREVAN, STEPANAKERT—Reaction to Monday’s Karabakh talks held in the Russian city of St. Petersburg between the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents and mediated by their Russian counterparts were deemed “useful” and “important” by officials in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, according to official statements.
Representatives of France and Russia, who are co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group also characterized the talks between presidents Serzh Sarkisian of Armenia, Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Vladimir Putin of Russia as a positive step toward peace.
“Today’s meeting was quite useful, and I can say with some caution that it was held in a constructive atmosphere,” Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian told reporters on Monday, adding that since last month presidential meeting in Vienna and foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, Azerbaijan’s rhetoric has demonstrated Baku’s unwillingness to adhere to agreements reached at those meetings.
“On some issues, the presidents came to an understanding that if there is agreement on them it will be possible to advance the negotiation process toward a conflict’s resolution,” added Nalbandian, who also announced that similar summits between the two presidents, as well as meetings between the two foreign ministers would continue.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov called the St. Petersburg talks “constructive.”
Following the meeting on Monday, the three presidents issued an announcement by which they pledged to increase the monitoring missions of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen, as well as continuing to hold similar meetings on a more regular basis.
In Stepanakert, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic presidential spokesperson David Babayan was more cautious, saying that while the agreements reached at the St. Petersburg meeting were “important” a quick resolution to the conflict would be difficult given Azerbaijan’s stance.
“We have always said that this is a new direction for the conflict resolution process, which for some reason has been ignored for many years. I am speaking about the confidence building measures, such as enhancement of mechanisms to detect ceasefire violations that would identify the provoking side,” said Babayan.
He also said that the fact the presidents discussed the addition of monitoring missions along the Karabakh-Azebraijan border demonstrated commitment to bring the much-discussed issue to fruition.
Babayan was skeptical about Azerbaijan’s willingness to follow through on its agreements given its history of impeding the peace process.
He pointed to military exercises that were taking place during the St. Petersburg summit, saying that the Azerbaijani Army neglected to inform the corresponding agencies about the quantity and caliber of weapons used for the exercises, a sentiment echoed by Nalbandian during his briefing to reports on Monday.
“A country that violates international treaties can easily violate bilateral, trilateral or multilateral agreements. Therefore, we should be patient. This is a long process,” said Babayan.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also deemed Monday’s talks constructive.
How come just 2 months after April war Sargsyan can shake hands with an aggressor who is in charge of war crimes of that war?
During short separate speeches with Putin Aliyev was more dynamic and named few arguments, while Sargsyan just said about peace.
How come one can talk about peace with a top commander of murderers? A leader of Armenian nation, of a party with an ideology of Njdeh should talk with a dignity, not to drop one. There are few articles that Petersburg meeting with shaking hands closed a theme of April war. Nothing done by MFA, neigther by Ombudsmen. 100+ young lives gone along with a piece of Armenian land. And we continue to trust to the enemy and talk to it in such an improper mode.
How this meeting was great when Armenias president agreed the land belongs to Azeri’s and that it was occupied by ethnic Armenians. In which Alieve added Armenian Republic soldiers as well. How is this good can someone please explain how is this a good progress. Plus how many times did we look Sheeps in front of the Turks or Azeri’s? It’s time to take off the sheep act and pretend to be a Lion as we are….. It’s time or it will be to late as we are surrounded by wolves.
This conflict has turned into a circus-type sad spectacle. Kill each other at home, then go to Moscow and sake hands and smile, have the customary round table conference, afterwards go home and start killing each other again. All the while Moscow will devise a plan-B to make sure the killing continues until the Kremlin’s interests are satisfied. Satisfying Kremlin’s interests usually means destroying Armenia’s interests…until then “let the killings begin”, line up the tribunes!
Disgusting!
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Just another bla bla. Russia still playing its game with these two pawns.
Wait and see.
None of these superficial, formalistic mediations can discourage Aluev’s unshakeable determination to regain N.Karabakh given some of the obvious factors mentioned below:
1- Survival of his regime (Alyev’s) and the legasy of his dynasty based on irradicating the embarrassing scars of the great defeat from the tiny
Armenia, depend on his success resulted from that firm determination, the only insurance to a happy ending.
2- Unlimited availability of petrodollar supply despite signs of energy market weakness lately.
3- Russian relentless effective efforts in atracting him in order to keep Azerbaijan within Russian Federation (Russian Empire) zone of
influence practically, , by supplying him generously with military amunition and related training though it remains Turkey’s younger
brother in EU and Nato.
4- Alliance with Turkey to take over southern Armenia, connect Nakhijevan to Azerbaijan and make the big old dream of Pan-Turkism
plan come true, which they together already have made quite a remarkable progress by bribing Ceorgia with an energy pipeline corridore
roll, military alliance and more importantly using it’s sotjhern part, Includin the Armenian enclave of Akhlkalak as a connection bridge
for their satanic dream plan, the Pan-Turkism. But, the Great triumph of that satanic dream wil remain alive and become perfect until one
of these days “God forbid” they GULP only the southern Armenia and connect Nakhijevan to Azerbaijan.
What a historic black end for us Armenians who then may learn that we have lost the opportunity of having a long dreamed beautiful country refind from corruption and neglect, but too late, as usual for us Armenians. shad Apsos.