Nothing to expect from Pashinyan-Aliyev negotiations — Alexander Tsinker

Speaking with Alpha News, Alexander Tsinker, head of the International Center for Eurasian Studies (ICES), commented on the negotiations between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Abu Dhabi.

“The information that is available both in Armenia and Azerbaijan says that, in principle, the peace agreement is ready to be signed. But Azerbaijan has demands: changes to the Constitution so that Artsakh is not mentioned in it and the dissolution of the Minsk Group (OSCE). The Constitution cannot be changed just like that, it requires a referendum. In principle, Pashinyan says that Armenia is going to change the Constitution, but it will still take time, so it will not change in the near future. Therefore, it is unlikely that they will sit down and sign a peace agreement.

Additionally, there is the problem of Syunik and the so-called ‘Zangezur corridor’. And the whole problem is that Armenia is not against the opening of communications. Another thing is that since this communication goes through the territory of Armenia, it means that responsibility and management of these roads and this corridor remains with Armenia. When Russia participated in the negotiations, there was a question of whether Russian representatives would be responsible for the corridor, but now this is no longer relevant. Armenia and Azerbaijan are now attempting to find common ground outside of the Armenia–Azerbaijan–Russia framework,” Tsinker said.