Former chief negotiator in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Swedish diplomat Jan Eliasson, sees a possible settlement of this conflict based on the elaboration likelihood model of something he calls “autonomy-plus, independence-minus.”

Eliasson, who is currently Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, told Turan news agency of Azerbaijan that the international legal principles of territorial integrity and the right to self-determination contradict each other in the Karabakh conflict.

The diplomat noted that even though he also supports territorial integrity, a status needs to be proposed that will be acceptable to everyone. 

Jan Eliasson stressed that there is a need for frank discussions between Armenia and Azerbaijan. He said the political leaders need to understand that the situation is becoming more dangerous, and it will become even worse over the years.

Jan Eliasson added that he is not too proud of the ceasefire agreement that was achieved back in 1994, since the main problem remains unresolved. In his words, there is no peace without development, and there is no development without peace.