“Zhamanak Yerevan” compares Tuesday’s summit in Minsk of the Commonwealth of Independent States to a “race where various approaches acting like presidential horses compete with each other.” The paper says the CIS leaders still do not know “what to do with that organization.” Some of them, notably President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, would like to turn the loose grouping of 12 former Soviet republics into a free trade zone similar to the European Union, while Russia favors a less radical solution.
“Azg” laments a lack of information about the latest meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents. “In essence, it is impossible to assess in any way the effectiveness of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents’ meeting because the negotiations remained as foggy as the weather in Minsk was yesterday,” complains the paper.
“Aravot” notes that neither the two presidents, nor the U.S., French and Russian co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group made any statements after the talks. “Representatives of the press were not allowed to enter the Russian embassy in Minsk, the place where the presidents met,” says the paper.
“Hayots Ashkhar” quotes Wayne Merry, a former U.S. State Department and Pentagon official who now sits on the Washington-based Foreign Policy Council, as saying that Azerbaijan will be unable to resolve the Karabakh conflict by military means in the foreseeable future. Speaking at the Johns Hopkins University this week, Merry dismissed Azerbaijani threats to win back Karabakh by force. He described Karabakh as an unassailable fortress that would easily fight back an Azerbaijani offensive. “Even the American army would have trouble attacking it,” Merry said, according to the paper. The U.S. expert also made a case for continued Armenian control of Karabakh and the liberation of the surrounding Azerbaijani districts except Lachin.
(Atom Markarian)
“Azg” laments a lack of information about the latest meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents. “In essence, it is impossible to assess in any way the effectiveness of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents’ meeting because the negotiations remained as foggy as the weather in Minsk was yesterday,” complains the paper.
“Aravot” notes that neither the two presidents, nor the U.S., French and Russian co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group made any statements after the talks. “Representatives of the press were not allowed to enter the Russian embassy in Minsk, the place where the presidents met,” says the paper.
“Hayots Ashkhar” quotes Wayne Merry, a former U.S. State Department and Pentagon official who now sits on the Washington-based Foreign Policy Council, as saying that Azerbaijan will be unable to resolve the Karabakh conflict by military means in the foreseeable future. Speaking at the Johns Hopkins University this week, Merry dismissed Azerbaijani threats to win back Karabakh by force. He described Karabakh as an unassailable fortress that would easily fight back an Azerbaijani offensive. “Even the American army would have trouble attacking it,” Merry said, according to the paper. The U.S. expert also made a case for continued Armenian control of Karabakh and the liberation of the surrounding Azerbaijani districts except Lachin.
(Atom Markarian)