What Should the Expectations of the Armenian Sides Be from the US?

• 05.23.2016, 18:07
• Liana Hovhannisyan
•  America,  "Insight" Analytical Center ,  World,  NKR

Last week the first meeting of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan took place for the first time. If we put aside the results of the meeting we can state that the meeting itself was positive. After April escalations the US for the first time did not limit itself to the statements and did a concrete step initiating the meeting of presidents and foreign affairs representatives of the  Minsk Group Co-Chairs states.

However it is obvious that the meeting cannot be an end in itself and the expectations of the conflicting sides from the co-chairing states cannot be limited to initiating and organizing such official meetings. Thus after Vienna meetings it will be more than logical for the Armenian sides to have some expectations from the US as a Minsk Group Co-Chair state who initiated the meeting.

The fact that the meeting took place by the US initiative should make the latter be more consistent and in case of necessity use all closed diplomatic channels to make the conflicting parties achieve the agreements reached during the meeting. Otherwise not only the violations will not stop in the region, but for another time the reputation of the US as a mediator who initiated the meeting will be put under a question (as it happened during the April four-day war, when Azerbaijan unleashed military operations on the borders immediately after the meeting of Ilham Aliyev with high level US officials Vice President Joe Biden and State Secretary John Kerry).

Besides to achieve the reached agreements and to prevent further violations in the region the US should also “bridle” its NATO ally, Turkey, which during those years as well as during the whole period of the four-day war acted as a provoker of military operations making bellicose statements on the highest level and in every way supporting Azerbaijan.

These are those minimal expectations for the realization of which the US should act in a consistent way as an immediate mediator in the conflict. Otherwise, we will for another time witness how the rights of peaceful residents in the region are subordinated to political interest of superpowers.