NKR official does not expect breakthrough in Karabakh talks
NKR President's Spokesman David Babayan does no expect any breakthrough during the trilateral meeting of Armenian, Azerbaijan and Russian Presidents to be held in Kazan on June 25.
He cannot say whether the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan will be presented a new document or not. At the same time, Babayan hails all sorts of dialogue saying they will promote peace and stability in the region.
"The Karabakh conflict cannot be settled without the participation of the Karabakhi side. We are grateful to Armneia for presenting our interests but I do not expect any breakthrough in the talks without Karabakh's direct engagement," Babayan told A1+.
According to the NKR President's Spokesman, Karabakh does not participate in the talks because of Azerbaijan's anti-constructive efforts.
"Today we are witnessing a weird situation: the talks are held within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group and the OSCE is breaking its decision adopted in the Budapest Summit in 1994. I think that the OSCE is fully aware of the situation, however, they prefer to continue the talks without Karabakh, taking into consideration Azerbaijan's anti-constructive posture," said Babayan.
The NKR official is confident that the talks will reach a deadlock without Karabakh's participation.
"Only then they will restore the distorted format. It is just a matter of time," he stressed.
Commenting on Azerbaijan's calls to accelerate the negotiation process, David Babayan said it was but PR.
"If Azerbaijan really wants to speed up the talks, the country should express willingness to negotiate with Karabakh and say that they recognize the independence of Karabakh. Further, Azerbaijan should agree to sign a peace deal with Karabakh to determine the borders," he said.
Babayan says the current stage of the negotiation process will drag out for another 2-3 years, since Azerbaijan itself benefits from the maintenance of the status quo.
"The current stage is not the final one. This is a small step of a long way, therefore it is useless to anticipate any breakthrough after the Kazan meeting," he concluded.
