Transfer of Karabakh territories to Baku fraught with new war: expert

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia is discussing the transfer of some territories under the control of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) to Azerbaijan, foreign minister Edward Nalbandian said on Monday, September 18 when addressing the 6th Armenia-Diaspora Conference in Yerevan.

These are the territories that will not threaten Karabakh in terms of security or cause renewal of the conflict, Nalbandian said.

Deputy Director of the Institute of CIS countries Vladimir Evseev believes that Karabakh itself, not the official Yerevan, should announce the possible transfer of territories.

"While it is only a matter of desire now, it is difficult to imagine the practical side of this question," Evseev says.

According to the expert, at the moment a lot of territories referred to in the Madrid agreements are of strategic importance for Artsakh.

"Directions that are dangerous won't be handed over to Baku. If Armenia withdraws from the line of demarcation, there is a big likelihood of hostilities from Azerbaijan," Evseev added.

Zurab Kananchev, an employee of the Center for the Study of Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Urals and Volga Region of the IAS RAS, said that Yerevan's statement should be regarded as a trial balloon: what Azerbaijan can offer in return is what matters.

According to the expert, Azerbaijan's reaction to the statement can be anything: from restrained to emotional, as the issue of possible transfer of territories has been raised repeatedly.