Armenian political analyst is sceptical over the ability of France to succeed in Karabakh conflict settlement, suggesting the process will drag on for a long time.

As Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan told a news conference in Yerevan, Armenia must populate Artsakh-surrounding liberated territories as soon as possible. “We’ve been delaying the process for 20 years, however, with settlement dragging on, there still time to populate the area,” the expert said.

Dwelling on Russia's role in conflict settlement, the expert noted, “with Vladimir Putin elected as President, Moscow will decrease involvement in the process, Russia's foreign policy tending to focus on Ukraine and Afghanistan.”