There’s a reason NATO declaration stipulates for Armenia’s territorial integrity - expert

PanARMENIAN.Net - A declaration adopted at Chicago-hosted NATO summit included a clause on regional conflicts in post-Soviet space, with Alliance members urging conflicting parties to respect settlement negotiation format, a visiting researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Washington told PanARMENIAN.Net

As Sergei Markedonov noted, the declaration also calls to refrain from steps undermining regional and international safety.

“In short, the summit confirmed that alteration in status-quo is impossible without considering position of the other side. “NATO declaration confirms the Alliance’s support for territorial integrity of Georgia, Moldova, Azerbaijan and Armenia. It’s not by chance that Armenia was included into the list. The republic doesn’t include unrecognized formations or separatist centers, still it’s involved in the struggle with Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh,” the expert said,

According to the expert, at the same time, the official Baku never ruled out the possibility of a retaliation to gain control over Nagorno Karabakh-adjacent regions.

“NATO reaction is understandable in this context: such an approach can’t be implemented on the territory of Armenia. However, NATO declaration suggests no mechanism of peacemaking efforts, with the issue not included on the Alliance agenda. Chicago summit backed the OSCE Minsk Group as a Karabakh settlement format. Yet, Alliance is not planning to urge change in status quo or suggest any special ideas, for complete lack of any at present,” Markedonov stressed.