“Zhoghovurd” does not expect the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to make serious progress on Nagorno-Karabakh at their meeting in Bern, Switzerland slated for Saturday. The paper says that the search for a Karabakh peace formula has been seriously complicated by Russia’s standoff with Turkey. “The parties are more likely to clarify their positioning in the new emerging situation and push forward their demands accordingly,” it says.
“Hayots Ashkhar” says that despite efforts by the international mediators Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has for months tried to avoid meeting with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian with “provocative steps” taken by Azerbaijani troops on the frontlines. “That destructive and adventurist stance of the Azerbaijani authorities has not changed,” writes the paper. “It is again manifesting itself these days.”
“Zhamanak” says that Russian President Vladimir Putin exposed the “tense state of his mind” at his latest marathon news conference held in the Kremlin on Thursday. The paper says that Putin sounded less self-confident and assured this time around because the sharp drop in oil prices has aggravated the socioeconomic situation in Russia. “Geopolitics puts a heavy burden on any economy,” it says. “And yet Putin is increasing the burden of geopolitical problems [facing Russia] amid a weakening economy.”
(Tigran Avetisian)