Astana Summit is not the platform to raise and solve serious issues: expert

The fact that the presidents of US and France are not attending the OSCE summit in Astana proves that it is not the organization where serious issues can be raised and solved, Armenian expert and political analyst Manvel Sargsyan has said.

Therefore, according to him, the Astana meeting cannot fully be considered as a summit.

"People don't believe that this is the platform to raise and solve serious problems," Sargsyan told a press conference today.

That Barack Obama and Nikolas Sarkozy are not attending the summit attests to the fact that a chance has been given to Russia to work more actively with the conflicting parties, he added.

Should Azerbaijan recognize peoples' right to self-determination - one of the most essential principles of the Madrid Principles according to Sargsyan - the Armenian side can then speak about agreements to be reached.

"But we don't see that Azerbaijan is ready for such a step," explained he, adding that the parties should themselves seek a peaceful solution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

"However, in these conditions, the sides will never go for an agreement," Sargsyan concluded.