The Crimea events will not influence Nagorno-Karabakh directly, Speaker of Karabakh parliament Ashot Ghulyan said in an interview with the German edition of EurActiv.

“Taking into account geography and specific of the events, I think the developments over Ukraine and Crimea will not have a direct influence on Karabakh,” Ghulyan said.

Asked about relationship between the NKR and Azerbaijan, the Speaker noted that, unfortunately, Azerbaijan’s refusal to accept the realities prevents development of a framework for a peaceful background for coexistence of two independent states NKR and Azerbaijan, and this prevents the establishment of normal interstate relations.

Ghulyan called the OSCE Minsk Group an effective mediatory mechanism that performs an important function, not only to bring the sides closer, but to prevent development of the situation on the worst-case scenario, that is resumption of hostilities.

“And if the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group have not yielded results, it is not for the co-chairs, and especially not for the mediation format, as Azerbaijani side often tries to present. It is extremely difficult to expect real progress in the settlement of Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict in an environment where Azerbaijan strongly hinders restoration of full-fledged negotiations, refuses to implement confidence-building measures, provokes an arms race, blackmails a new war, trying to distort the essence of the conflict,” Ghulyan emphasized.