Zhoghovurd: New developments expected in Karabakh peace as EU and Russia step up efforts

The intensified efforts by the EU and Russia to step up their engagement in the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) peace process prompt new developments over Artsakh, as well as along the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border.

In particular, the paper says, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is travelling to Moscow on July 20 with an agenda of negotiating the further strengthening his country’s relations with Russia (reportedly with a special emphasis on trade investments and humanitarian cooperation).

Meantime the paper refers to Nikol Pashinyan’s July 17 meeting with Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, in which the acting prime minister of Armenia addressed the recently reported cross-border tensions, as well as the new ambitions of Azerbaijan (to provoke fresh cross-border clashes).

The paper further cites the Azerbaijani defense minister’s recent remark ordering his country’s military to be "prepared for a new war".  For comments on future expectations, as well as Russia’s position on the issue, the paper also talked to Fyodor Lukyanov, a Moscow-based political analyst who expressed a belief that “the sides are positioning themselves” ahead of the planned delimitation. “It is universally understood that no advancement is possible, with the sides trading accusations at each other. The situation is complicated indeed,” he said.

Addressing Russian analyst’s remarks, as well as the latest developments along the borders, the paper notes that Moscow, which is not virtually opposed to the process, simultaneously has its big share of contribution to Armenia’s security building, a matter to which Yerevan sees no direct alternative at present.