Permanent political instability in Azerbaijan was an important factor in the Karabakh war, author of "Black Garden" book dedicated to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict Thomas de Waal said in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net. In his words, during the critical battles for Shushi and Lachin the Azeri troops left for Baku to meddle in the internal political disorders. "The greatest territorial surrenders were Aghdam and Fizuli and they occurred in 1994," de Waal noted.

At the same time he noted that anyone knows that the geographical map cannot be changed. "Armenians and Azeris will always have to live as neighbors and it's painful to see that the two societies abide by the slogan "Karabakh is ours and it's inseparable". Neither of the parties is ready for compromise that is why it's hard to achieve complete peace," the journalist said. Thomas de Waal says the leadership of Armenia and Azerbaijan is responsible for it. "The peaceful plan is generally outlined. Karabakh will de-facto maintain the present status with the corridor to Armenia; Azerbaijan will receive its lands back and refugees will be allowed to return… However the settlement process cannot be started without dialogue and mutual trust," he underscored.

Full text of the interview