U.S. diplomat fond of visiting Baku?

December 14, 2013 - 18:19 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. Co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick is planning a visit to Baku. The diplomat said on his Twitter account that he is going to meet with the Azerbaijani leadership but did not provide the exact date of the visit.

Apparently, Mr. Warlick likes Baku, but his frequent visits give food for speculation. If he goes to Baku, it's only logical that he should visit Yerevan as well, to retain parity. It's not ruled out that the visits are conditioned by the unstable situation in Azerbaijan and alarming data on waning oil resources, which will make the country umpromising for the U.S. Besides, the Department of State may think about prevention of closer ties between Baku and Moscow. And last but not least, it’s Azerbaijani-Iranian relations that can change due to Obama’s new policy.

So, the conclusion is that the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is a not a top priority for Mr. Warlick.

Anyway, these visits should keep Yerevan on the alert, as the U.S. can come to an agreement with Baku on some issues detrimental to Armenia.

The recent developments show that the U.S. is losing its influence in the post-soviet states. Mr. Warlick can go to Azerbaijan every month, however, the final resolution of the Karabakh conflict, i.e. recognition of the NKR independence, doesn’t depend on frequency of the mediators’ visit.