Interview with Asim Mollazade, chairman of the Party for Democratic Reforms and a Milli Majlis deputy.
Q: Can we expect a breakthrough in resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh at the meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Sochi on 5 March?
A: We want to believe that Yerevan will take definite steps to resolve the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh at the Sochi meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia. Unfortunately, all talks between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia on the resolution of this conflict conducted by the OSCE Minsk Group, as well as at the initiative of Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev, have not led to movement towards peace, towards a resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Karabakh. It was clearly seen at the OSCE summit in Astana, where Armenia cynically and impudently denied all agreements reached earlier on resolution of the conflict. This was a slap in the face for Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev, who hoped that definite agreements on resolution of the conflict would be reached in Astana.
Q: Does Russia not have any mechanisms to put pressure on Armenia?
A: Of course Russia has mechanisms to influence Armenia. As we are aware of this, we hope that Russia, which has seized the initiative as a mediator on the Karabakh conflict, will use all its levers to influence Armenia to achieve a result. Otherwise, serious damage will be done to the influence of Russia and to that of its president, Dmitriy Medvedev.
Q: Does the United States, as the only country to allocate annual financial assistance to the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh republic, put any pressure on Yerevan to solve the conflict?
A: I think the Minsk Group co-chairing states, including the US and Russia, have no principal differences on resolution of the Karabakh conflict. As for the US allocation of financial assistance to separatists from the unrecognized "NKR", it is mostly the result of the work of the Armenian lobby in the United States. But here it should be mentioned that interesting news has come out of the United States recently. For example, an influential and well known gang, Armenian Power, was smashed in California on 16 February and its members charged with blackmail, kidnapping, money laundering and drug trafficking. A little earlier, the head of the Armenian mafia in the United States, kingpin Armen Kazaryan, known as Pzo, was arrested for numerous crimes. Both these cases prove that the money, which the Armenian lobby uses to seek financial aid from the United States for the so-called "NKR", is of obviously criminal origin. This allows us to think that the US leadership will start to realize the criminal activity of the Armenian diaspora in the United States, the threat of the actions of the US Armenian lobby to this superpower's national interests. Indirect proof could be the fact that US President Barack Obama confirmed Matthew Bryza in the post of US ambassador to Azerbaijan, though the Armenian lobby in the States was doing its best to stop this. We hope the United States will continue its policy of responding to its national interests, rather than the interests of the Armenian diaspora, which is closely linked with the world of crime and terrorism.
Q: How will the deepening socioeconomic crisis in Armenia influence Yerevan's position on a resolution?
A: I don’t think the deepening domestic political and socioeconomic problems in Armenia will be able to influence Yerevan's position on resolution of the Karabakh conflict. On the contrary, unable to tackle the socioeconomic problems of their citizens, the Armenian authorities may show greater obstinacy in the negotiating process, in this way trying to "respond" to criticism from the opposition.
Akper Hasanov
News.Az
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