YEREVAN. – Most experts claimed that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs dealing with the settlement of Karabakh conflict are acting based on common ground, but the recent developments raise doubts whether it is really so. This was stated by Russian political analyst Andrey Areshev during a press conference in Yerevan on Thursday.

The analyst is convinced that the statements by American OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair James Warlick and U.S. Ambassador John Heffern on the need to return liberated territories around Nagorno-Karabakh should be considered as a part of campaign of pressure on Armenia and NKR.

“Escalation at the line of contact in Karabakh conflict zone and on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in late July and early August was serious first of all in terms of the number of victims. Those who planned and carried out these bloody provocations may have different reasons: someone may be sought to achieve propaganda effect; perhaps it is a logical continuation of pressure on the Armenian party and instruction to the Armenian authorities to somehow correct their foreign policy,” Areshev noted.

He stressed that the provocations did not work, and the Armenian side appeared to be ready. The analyst believes that attempts to shift blame for escalation on Russia will continue.

“The rumors about Russia's intentions to deploy peacekeepers in Karabakh are nonsense. Moscow is interested in stability as escalation will first of all affect Russia,” he added.

Andrey Areshev hopes that Russia will display more independence on the approaches to settlement