YEREVAN. – Washington expects a signal to be seriously engaged in the Karabakh conflict, British analyst Thomas de Waal said.

A senior associate at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment said it is hard to forecast the further processes on Karabakh.

“I do not see reasons yet that the existing, not that effective format of talks, could change. Moreover, when some people are in jail in Azerbaijan, and among them is a friend of mine Arif Yunus. I do not see objective reasons for progress in Karabakh talks, especially amid Ukrainian crisis,” de Waal said.

He said it is necessary to create new platforms to have the reason for mutual understanding so that one of the parties could understand the position of the other.

In this context, we can hope that some alternative ways will continue. At the moment, the analyst believes, the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan are responsible for the current situation.

“Amid Ukrainian crisis, Karabakh conflict is definitely not a priority for other countries. Both in Armenia and Azerbaijan, there is a tendency to blame mediators. And why  should be the conflict resolved, if there is no desire from the parties to meet halfway? What can Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin or anyone else do under these conditions?” the analyst wonders.