Azerbaijan, Baku, April 22 / Trend M. Aliyev /
Azerbaijani political analysts disagree about progress in resolving of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the nearest future.
Political analyst Fikret Sadikhov said that the situation in the region is changing. "Armenia will be obliged to openly express its position on the updated Madrid principles as Washington and Moscow will push it to it in the nearest months", he said during today's Round Table with participation of political analysts.
Political analyst Rasim Agayev also said that the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict entered a new phase. "Before there was divergence of positions between the United States and Russia. Now both parties share the issues of establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia and settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan must solve this problem through its own efforts," he said.
Political analysts Arif Yunus and Zardusht Alizadeh do not expect radical changes in the process of resolving the conflict in the nearest future. "At present, the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is not so significant as other issues for the U.S. So, it does not worth waiting for more initiative on their part ," Yunus said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.
The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.