‘You don’t have to be a genius to understand the complexity of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict’: Mikhail Sinelnikov-Orishak

Speaking with Alpha News, political scientist and Americanist Mikhail Sinelnikov-Orishak commented on the meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in the United States.

“The question is whether a peace agreement will actually be signed—not just a memorandum or another statement of intent. And intentions, speaking in diplomatic language, are always for peace throughout the world, for everything good, but each side is trying to sign this ‘peace’ in its own favor. And this is where contradictions arise. If a peace agreement is actually signed, it would undoubtedly be a very big event, a fairly important event for this region. It would show that, despite the web of contradictions, conflicts like that can be resolved not only by military means. But this whole situation is unique in that it’s a long-standing, delayed conflict that has flared up and subsided multiple times. And if a peace agreement can extinguish it, at least in the medium term, that would be a major success. But in this case, you don’t have to be a genius to understand all the complexity. There have already been many statements about the fact that the issue is close to resolution, so interim steps—like another declaration of intent—are understandable. It’s the usual ‘we’ll get there eventually’ approach,” Sinelnikov-Orishak said.

According to the political scientist, the US has many other things to do now and the issue of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is not a central concern.

“The direct influence of the United States itself on this conflict is small, and they do not bear any special costs from it—neither financial nor political. But if suddenly they manage to stand nearby and, among other things, claim that the conflict was resolved thanks to U.S. efforts, that’s always a win for them. The United States has many other things to do now, and it is difficult to say that this issue is its central concern,” Sinelnikov-Orishak concluded.