Expert says Karabakh may become full member of peace talks

 June 8, 2012 - 18:34 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - In response to recent Azeri actions at the contact line, OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries may alter the negotiation format, resulting in Nagorno Karabakh Republic’s becoming a full-fledged member, according to head of Regional Studies Center (RSC).

“We will witness interesting developments in Paris. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised new proposals and format, which will first of all pursue the goal to promote OSCE Minsk Group’s activity,” Richard Giragosian said.

The expert noted that the proposals to be issued to the conflicting parties are still unknown.

“However, U.S. Secretary of State would have never made such a statement without coming to terms with France and Russia,” Mr. Giragosian said.

“I expect it to be new format of talks, with NKR becoming full member of negotiations,” he said.

The expert further said that the experience of conduction of peace talks on conflicts in Northern Ireland and Palestine prove the impossibility of reaching an agreement without involvement of all the countries in the process.

Mr. Giragosian denied the possibility of Karabakh’s replacing Armenia in negotiations, noting that Armenia will always play a significant role.

He further slammed Armenian second president Robert Kocharian’s decision to continue talks with Azerbaijan without NKR’s involvement.