It all depends on Turkey's decision
Although the issue of Nagorno- Karabakh is not reflected in the Turkey-Armenia Protocols, according to expert of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies Manvel Sargsyan, it was clear from the start that Turkey had to try to take advantage of every moment to reinforce its diplomacy on Karabakh.
"We see that today. I don't know how Armenian delegates have estimated that, but the fact that the ruling elite in Armenia and in Nagorno-Karabakh are coarsening the position leaves the impression that they understand the difficult situation that has been created," Manvel Sargsyan said to "A1+". Manvel Sargsyan has been adviser to the former president of the NKR.
According to the expert, the main issue is whether Turkey will ratify the Protocols without progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution or not. Any decision that Turkey takes will determine the political climate in the region and the nature of international relations connected to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "It is a very essential issue and it is obvious that Armenia must not accept any condition from Turkey."
The expert believes that Armenia could have thought about that sooner and solved the issues without preconditions. "The Armenian authorities didn't understand the risks involved and if they had realized that, we could have taken a different path and we wouldn't give Turkey any chances today."
Touching upon the Madrid Principles, Manvel Sargsyan noted that there was nothing confidential about them and that the issue was that the sides are trying to make comments that favor them. According to him, it should never have been claimed that the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh is the one that is being proposed because Azerbaijan has not shown any desire or that it is ready for mutual concessions in the past 15 years. "If no side resolves the issue through compromises, it could be presupposed that either the international community will keep the status-quo to not let the conflict develop, or it has hopes that it can pressure any side. The Madrid Principles are not an approach for compromise, but an issue of stages for handing Nagorno-Karabakh completely to Azerbaijan," he said.
The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are actually visiting Baku today and will arrive in Yerevan tomorrow. During the visit the intermediaries will discuss issues related to preparation for the next meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents.
