Armenia and Azerbaijan have realized that having an unresolved conflict is costly — not least when it comes to the human suffering, OSCE PA Special Representative on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Goran Lennmarker told in an interview with Azerbaijani Trend News.

“I remain optimistic about the possibility of solving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict this year. To have a preamble is a good starting point. I have big expectations that there really is a political will in both Baku and Yerevan to move forward and find a peaceful and lasting solution,” he said.

According to him, August war in Georgia showed that unsettled conflicts are very dangerous.

Lennmarker attaches major significance to Kazakhstan’s role as OSCE Chairing State in the Karabakh peace process.

“I think the Kazakh Chairmanship is very important. The Kazakhs have themselves come out of the Soviet Union and they might have fresh ideas and be ready to take a look at this conflict from a new angle. I know that the Chairman-in-Office has made settlements of the unresolved conflicts one of his priorities, and I think this is excellent. The timing is right, and with the push from the leadership of the OSCE, progress could really be made,” Lennmarker stated.

He also added that it is time to “show courage” in resolving Karabakh conflict. “There can be no military solution — since it would only lead to more devastation, more casualties, and more refugees. This conflict is not frozen — people die on the line-of-contact every month, and this simply cannot go on,” he emphasized.

March 10, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Joao Soares and Goran Lennmarker arrive in Yerevan.