November 26, 2009 - 13:07 AMT
Azerbaijan's victory in new war not obvious
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's warlike statements on the threshold of the meeting with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan in Munich considerably damaged Karabakh talks, according to Andrey Areshev, deputy director general of Strategic Culture Foundation.

"I always tell Armenians to please us with the agreement that can be achieved," Aliyev said on the threshold of talks.

"Even international mediators permitted themselves to comment on the Azeri leader's eccentric ideas about the compromise," Areshev emphasized in the article he titled "Karabakh settlement reaches a deadlock again."

French Co-Chair Bernard Fassier called on both sides "to refrain from harsh statements at the current stage of talks."

"Azerbaijan's foreign policy, which is based on maximalistic demands, is cracking and this makes Baku nervous. Although some may interpret Aliyev's statement as a "well turned" diplomatic move, such policy seems rather doubtful and hampers the negotiation process," Areshev concluded.