Armenian PM not ready for concessions in Karabakh conflict settlement

There will be very active struggle for power in Armenia, said Russian public figure, political analyst, director general of the Institute for Political Studies Sergey Markov.

“In these circumstances, opponents of Nikol Pashinyan accuse the prime minister of being ready to make significant concessions on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” said Markov, who is also member of the State Duma of the fifth convocation and member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, said.

“But I think Pashinyan is not quite ready for this concessions," he told Trend. “On the contrary, he is interested in "patriotic euphoria". So, his supporters may organize provocations in the form of local clashes to allow the prime minister to demonstrate "firmness" and "stiffness" of his position in the NagornoKarabakh conflict.”

“Pashinyan has already started to toughen the negotiating positions when he stated that the illegal regime created in NagornoKarabakh region must take part in the negotiations on the conflict settlement,” Markov said.

"Therefore, I think that due to domestic political reasons it is not worth expecting the Armenian leadership to make significant compromises and concessions,” he said. “It seems improbable to me. So, I am not optimistic about that."

“I was optimistic earlier,” he said. "The negotiations were very successful 1.5-2 years ago. By the end of 2016 the families of internally displaced people could return to their lands. But it did not happen. The last steps in this issue have not been made. I know that for certain."

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a lengthy war that ended with signing a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including NagornoKarabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

Until now, Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.

Meanwhile, the OSCE Minsk Group, created in 1990s to find a peaceful solution to the NagornoKarabakh conflict, is still working on the issue. It is co-chaired by France, the Russian Federation, and the United States. It is also noteworthy that Italy, chairing the OSCE this year, is one of the permanent members of the Minsk Group.