One of the New Prime Minister's Priorities Is to Effectively Assume Karabakh Conflict Negotiation Bloc

• 05.15.2018, 13:16
• Narek Minasyan
•  "Insight" Analytical Center ,  NKR,  Analytics

On May 8, by Nikol Pashinyan's election as Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, in fact, the process of power transfer began which also implies that the newly elected prime minister and his government will develop and implement the state's foreign policy. And now, when the formation of a new government has ended, it is important to make the most effective transfer of the entire foreign policy bloc. In this regard, the Karabakh conflict negotiation process is of particular importance in the context of our foreign policy, especially when the prime minister is the main negotiator.

The so-called Karabakh conflict negotiation process, which should be assumed by the new prime minister, as well as by the foreign minister appointed by him, is rather complicated one and containes many nuances. It includes, for example, all the documents adopted during and after the Karabakh war, their nuances, all negotiation packages, the dynamics of the negotiation process and the transformation of the sides' approaches, the positions of the sides on various elements of the negotiation process, the co-chairs' views, the proposals presented by the Co-Chairs at different stages of the negotiation process, previous and existing agreements and many more. Despite its complexity, the Karabakh negotiation bloc requires some haste, as the process, despite its relative break, continues, and the newly elected prime minister, his newly appointed foreign minister should address the issue in foreign affairs, presenting the position of the Armenian side. In the process of getting fully into the bloc, it is necessary to ensure institutional methodology while at the same time consider the possibility of conducting consultations with former negotiators, taking into account the closed format of the Karabakh negotiation process.

According to recent statements by Nikol Pashinyan, the Armenian side's position will be based on the principle of continuity, which, however, does not mean that it will totally be the same. Moreover, experts state that the current high legitimacy of the Armenian authorities and the national unity allow for a certain tounghened position on various elements of the negotiation process.

Nevertheless, it will be possible to speak about the full position of the new Armenian authorities on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict when the foreign policy team will be formed and the Karabakh negotiation bloc will be effectively assumed.