“People are under stress”: the expert assessed the negotiations between the delegations of Azerbaijan and Karabakh

It’s not possible to solve all the questions in one round.

In the Azerbaijani city of Yevlakh, negotiations began on security guarantees between representatives of Azerbaijan and a delegation of Armenians from Karabakh, which capitulated yesterday. The Azerbaijani delegation was headed by Deputy of the National Assembly of the country Ramin Mammadov, Karabakh – State Minister Artur Harutyunyan. The negotiations are taking place with the assistance of the Russian peacekeeping contingent. They will discuss both the liquidation of the Karabakh army and the fate of the Armenians living on the territory of the republic.

What they will agree on was told to Moskovsky Komsomolets by a senior researcher at the Center for Post-Soviet Studies at IMEMO. E. Primakov RAS Stanislav Pritchin.

“There is only one option,” the expert believes, “to fulfill Azerbaijan’s demands for maximum disarmament, maximum demilitarization of the Nagorno-Karabakh zone. Azerbaijan appeals to the fourth point of the ceasefire agreement of November 9-10, which involves the withdrawal of all armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh. This was the main goal of the anti-terrorist operation. On this, apparently, it was possible to achieve agreement with the leadership of the current Nagorno-Karabakh. I think that the key question now is how this will happen, where the troops will go, whether special corridors will be created for the withdrawal of troops, where small arms will be sent. I think that this topic will not be covered by one meeting. Most likely, this will happen through the mediation of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.”

— What fate will await those who remain to live in Nagorno-Karabakh?

— The essential question is how to build a dialogue with the society of Karabakh. It is clear that now the population is scared, there are civilian casualties, and this causes very serious concerns among the remaining people in Nagorno-Karabakh. Here, Azerbaijan must demonstrate maximum readiness for peaceful integration and offer a package of measures. There are hints about this, but no one has yet announced a plan for what Azerbaijan is offering as social assistance for the local population who plans to stay in Karabakh. Regarding security guarantees, Azerbaijan has clearly outlined: no special regions will be allocated in ethnic terms, everything is included in the Karabakh economic region, security is ensured by the legislation of Azerbaijan. At the municipal level, the local population still has the opportunity to form municipal authorities; it is possible that the issue of representation in the Azerbaijani parliament will be explored. The question is how to carry out integration technically; it is necessary to translate all document flow into the Azerbaijani language, so that those who remain become a legal part of Azerbaijan. There are a lot of nuances against the backdrop of the fact that people are stressed and have concerns about Azerbaijan. Of course, serious work needs to be done in a humanitarian and informational manner.