The aim of the Astana meeting of the OSCE Minsk Group mediators with Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan September 15 was to establish the availability of political will of the leaders of both countries, MG US Co-Chair Steven Mann stated in an interview with BBC Russian Service. "We say to both governments: time does not work for you. It will be worse both for Armenia and Azerbaijan. Regional development passes Armenia by. Pipelines, roads, railways are built, and Armenia misses the profits it might have had from integration with the entire region. The country pays much for the army, which it has to support. As of Azerbaijan, a rather large part of the country is occupied, the number of refugees is up to one million. The more the confrontation lasts, the more it gets a status of a permanent one, which does not fit that country," Steven Mann said. "I suppose there are another two aspects. First, it is a tragedy, when young people grow in both countries, seeing a foe in the person of the other side. It is very bad. Second, extremism develops in stalemate situation. The more the time there is no progress, the more opportunities for extremists to take advantage of the situation in 5, 10, 15 years," the mediator said. In his words, it is important for the government and the opposition to unite in Armenia and Azerbaijan "to legitimate the idea of talks, the idea of compromise." At that S. Mann noted that the Minsk Group mandate is to create a favorable atmosphere for the talks to be held in, not in finding a solution and "imposing it on the parties."