High hopes for Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks

Until the April escalation on the contact line of the Armenian and Azerbaijani troops, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was referred as the frozen one. Indeed, that escalation played a critical role in bringing the urgency of the conflict resolution to the agenda of world powers.

The ‘Four Day War in NagornoKarabakh’ was a shock for many; the renewal of a battle between Armenia and Azerbaijan seemed practically inevitable.

Just as the escalation was a negative surprise, the response of the international community to it was quite sound. Rather than treating the escalation as a temporary outbreak, the mediators seemed to seize the opportunity to resolve the conflict making the South Caucuses the place where security and development takes deep routes.

Russia, a big global player and a member-state of the OSCE Minsk Group established to mediate between the parties to the conflict, outmaneuvered other players through huge and consistent political steps to achieve the conflict resolution. Russia is widely considered to be the most relevant and concerned regional power, as the escalation in the Nagorno-Karabakh will first of all hit Moscow’s security.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, who received Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Baku on July 11, voiced that Baku appreciates the efforts made by President Vladimir Putin and Minister Lavrov for settlement of the NagornoKarabakh conflict, and expressed gratitude for those efforts.

Referring to the intensification of negotiations on the conflict, President Aliyev described the negotiations as the most dynamic ones.

He also expressed hope that the positive dynamics in the talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will continue, adding that Russia is interested in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Touching upon the relations between the two countries in various spheres, the president said the main task is to strengthen them, and noted that Azerbaijan and Russia have friendly and partnership relations.

Moscow hopes to more clearly define the further steps towards the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said Lavrov during the meeting, mentioning that President Putin is satisfied with the negotiations.

Lavrov also noted that he visited Yerevan and is now in Baku under Russian president’s instructions. “We hope that today’s meeting will make it possible to more clearly define the further steps towards the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” he said.

The positive pulsbeat of the Baku talks continued on the second day, when the Russian minister met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov.

"Russia and Azerbaijan in the course of bilateral contacts discussed concrete steps that can and should lead to progress in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Lavrov said on July 12.

"Yesterday we had a detailed, frank and confidential dialogue with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. We discussed the bilateral relations in principle and identified further steps that can and should lead to progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement. I fully share your words as regards our bilateral relations and strategic partnership: they are developing in all directions, without exception," TASS quoted Lavrov as saying.

Refusing to disclose the details of the meetings on the Nagorno-Karabakh for ‘known reasons’, Lavrov said it is necessary to be careful towards those “sprouts of hope” so that not to hamper the progress.

“But there are grounds to presume that currently we are closer to success than ever before,” he added.

Mammadyarov, for his part, emphasized that the "high level of the dialogue that is intensifying", further elaborating that the parties are engaged in dialogue on many issues, including the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.

"There is the hope that the intensification of the negotiating process will make it possible to untie the knot of the conflict," he said.

“Substantive talks are being held on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and while resolving the remaining issues, we can be cautiously optimistic about the future.”

He added that a concrete decision will be made later with regard to the next meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents, adding that it is still unknown where the meeting will be held.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has met his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan twice in the past month and half first in Vienna in May, and the second time in St. Petersburg in June along with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Experts have positively assessed the intensification of talks, along with the signs of more constructive spirit of the talks.

For over the past 20 years the OSCE-led Minsk Group is dealing with the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which emerged in 1988 as a result of Armenia's illegal territorial claims on Azerbaijan.

As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

Region in focus

The Russian-Azerbaijani bilateral ties, the North-South railway transportation corridor as well as Moscow-Ankara rapprochement were among the topics discussed during the Baku visit of FM Lavrov.

Russia and Azerbaijan have partnership relations, and enjoy an intensive political dialogue, said Lavrov at a joint press conference with Elmar Mammadyarov.

The minister emphasized that the economic and trade relations of the two countries require special attention, adding that the dynamics of cooperation in the humanitarian sphere is satisfactory.

Lavrov pointed out that the Baku-Moscow relations cannot be affected by any conjuncture.

The minister, speaking about improvement of relations between Russia and Turkey, said that it will have a positive and effective impact on overcoming the Syrian crisis.

Mammadyarov, for his part, has voiced that Baku hails the creation of good relations between its neighbors, he added.

Earlier, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, commenting on the improvement of relations between Turkey and Russia, thanked Azerbaijan for its contribution to normalization of the relations.

The North-South railway transportation corridor project will be discussed during the meeting of Azerbaijani, Russian and Iranian presidents in Baku in August, said Mammadyarov.

Noting that the exact date of the presidents’ meeting will be set in August, Mammadyarov noted that the North-South project has great economic prospects

The North-South transportation corridor is meant to connect Northern Europe to South-East Asia. It will serve as a link connecting the railways of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia. At the initial stage, the North-South corridor will transport 5 million tons of cargo with further expansion of transportation to over 10 million tons.