Rasim Musabekov on Possible Ways of Karabakh Conflict Settlement

Baku / 13.02.18 / Turan: The transfer of the presidential elections in Azerbaijan for six months ahead is conditioned by many external and internal circumstances, one of which is the negotiations on the Karabakh settlement. This opinion was voiced by Rasim Musabekov, a deputy (MP) of Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan in an interview with the Armenian agency Arminfo.

In his opinion, the transfer of the presidential elections in Azerbaijan for April will not reduce the pace of negotiations and attempts to reach a breakthrough this year.

According to him, the situation of the ruling elite and the first persons in Azerbaijan, like Armenia, looks invulnerable today. In Armenia, a deep reorganization of the government is expected in April, and this will also happen in Azerbaijan after the April presidential elections.

"In accordance with the Constitution, the Cabinet of Ministers will resign in full force, both structural and personal changes are expected in the government of Azerbaijan, as there are many elderly people who occupy their posts for almost two decades," Musabekov said.

Baku's demand for Yerevan to liberate the occupied territories stipulated in the resolutions of the UN Security Council, and Yerevan's counter-demand to agree to the withdrawal of Nagorno-Karabakh from the composition of Azerbaijan through a referendum led the talks into a dead end, Musabekov said.

"Without taking part in the negotiations directly, proceeding from the information available to me, I believe that the basis of the negotiations is still the Madrid Principles, and its version, known as the Kazan Document, has not been archived and is still relevant. The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, speaking recently about the Karabakh settlement, noted that it is impossible to resolve all issues by one document, and the process of implementing possible agreements will be phased," he said.

Musabekov believes the parties to the conflict are trying to find a way out in more fractional steps with exchanges, moving forward, not getting everything at once, but step by step, making concessions and receiving certain bonuses in return. As an example, he singled out the liberation with the adoption of a "framework agreement" of 2-3 districts, accompanied by a peacekeeping operation and the opening of communications between Azerbaijan and Turkey on one side and Armenia on the other.

"This is not so little if one takes into account that Armenia can get a railway exit through Turkey to Europe and the Middle East and through Azerbaijan to Iran, as well as to Russia, Central Asia and China." Nagorno-Karabakh can get Baku"s approval for the implementation of aviation communication," Musabekov said.

The increase in the level of confidence and the reduction of confrontation, according to his forecasts, will allow us to move on to the next step, during which it will be possible to agree on the intermediate status of Nagorno-Karabakh allowing it to be included in the political dialogue and carry out economic activities with access to foreign markets. In return, it will be possible to free up another 2-3 districts. The parliamentarian considers it important to ensure a positive dynamics of the settlement process, because in an atmosphere of growing confidence, many issues that seem insoluble today can find a mutually acceptable compromise.

"The Foreign Ministers of our countries note the constructive nature of the negotiating round, and although incidents still occur on the contact line, the tension has significantly decreased." There is agreement to increase the number of the group of the OSCE chairman's special representative for monitoring ceasefire. Negotiations should sometime occur, because the alternative to a peaceful settlement is not the infinite preservation of the current status quo, but full-scale and bloodshed war that neither Azerbaijan nor Armenia, nor our neighbors in the region ever need," Musabekov summed up.-02D-