Military blackmail can lead to nothing but war, expert states

PanARMENIAN.Net - The agreement reached on March 5 in Sochi demonstrated the faulty nature of Ilham Aliyev’s policy, which is aimed at using military rhetoric as a resource in Karabakh talks, according to the head of the scientific studies department at Caucasus Institute.

As Sergei Minasyan told PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, military blackmail can lead to nothing but a war. “Aliyev must have calculated the negative consequences of war, entailing thousands of victims, as well as destroyed energy and economy infrastructure of the region. In this case, the Azerbaijani president must do his best to find a way out of the situation without losing his face,” Minasyan stressed.

Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents - Serzh Sargsyan, Dmitry Medvedev and Ilham Aliyev - adopted a joint statement on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement based on the results of their negotiations in Sochi.

The document reads that the Presidents considered matters of practical implementation of the trilateral statement adopted during the October 27, 2010, meeting in Astrakhan. Specifically, the Presidents agreed to finalize the swap of POWs as soon as possible.

The document stresses the parties’ willingness “to solve all disputable matters peacefully and conduct investigation of possible incidents along the ceasefire line under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group through the assistance of Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office.”