Sargsyan-Aliyev meeting hardly to make breakthrough in Karabakh peace process- Armenian expert says

YEREVAN, November 12. / ARKA /. An Armenian political expert downplayed the significance of a planned meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents over the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict saying it will hardly mark a breakthrough in the stalled peace process.

According to Aleksandr Markarov, the director of the Armenian branch of the CIS Institute, there is little evidence to expect a breakthrough from the meeting. Speaking at a news conference today, he said the sides are very much likely to reiterate their positions on the settlement.

Markarov blamed the Azerbaijani side for lack of progress in the negotiation process which he said is due to Baku’s non-constructive approach, clearly indicated by the failure of the presidents’ meeting in Russian Kazan in 2011.

The U.S., Russian and French diplomats co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Groups said in a joint statement issued shortly after their talks with Azeri and Armenian presidents earlier this month that Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan confirmed their intention to meet in November 2013 to clarify their positions on a settlement and to discuss the way forward.” 

The Co-Chairs continue to work on arrangements for the forthcoming summit,” added the statement. 

“The Co-Chairs call upon the sides to exercise restraint on the ground as well as in their public statements. Military action, particularly at this moment, can only be seen as an attempt to damage the peace process.”

According to Markarov , the fact that the presidents have agreed to resume their meetings  after a long break is an indication that  the parties realistically assess the situation realizing that there is no military solution to the long-running  conflict. -0-