During their recent meeting in Sochi, Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani presidents agreed to go back to implementation of the statement adopted in Astrakhan. Thus, no actual progress was achieved in the settlement of a protracted conflict, a Russian political expert stated.

As Sergei Markedonov told PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, after yet another rollback, the parties returned to the points agreed on half a year ago. However, the expert characterized the preservation of the negotiation format as a satisfactory result all parties could benefit from. “To Azerbaijan, a war would be fraught with serious social shocks. Armenia would risk loosing everything it gained in the 1990s. For unrecognized NKR, a war would have endangered its physical and political existence. In this situation Russia would have to chose between Yerevan and Baku, and risk its position in South Caucasus. The war would distract Washington from Afghanistan and a complicated geo-political puzzle in Middle East,” the expert explained.

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.”