Russia has decided to issue reminder about its key role in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process despite the fact that it has the same power as the other OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, the former Armenian foreign minister and member of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) Alexander Arzumanyan told journalists, commenting on the Russian initiative to hold a number of meetings between the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders.

“It was a message to the international community that the key to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was in Moscow’s hands. The other seven bilateral meetings confirm this,” he said.

As regard the statement on the exchange of POWs and dead bodies, Arzumanyan pointed out that the “humanitarian statement without any meaning was signed in connection with the forthcoming summit in Astana.”

This document is important from the humanitarian point of view.

As regards the possibility of a document being signed in Astana, Arzumanyan does not expect any progress in the negotiations.

“The negotiation process shows the moment for a turning point has not yet come. The conflicting parties will re-affirm the importance of peace process within the OSCE Minsk Group, while the OSCE member-states will express their unanimous support for the process. They will stress it is the only format for settling the conflict, restricting themselves to general wordings,” he said.

A “road map” is unlikely to be signed during the summit, Arzumanyan said.

The Madrid principles are unacceptable to either Armenia or Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan rejects them as well. “In this context a ‘road map’ is an impossible thing. After all, any statement can be ‘branded’ a ‘road map’ or presented as part of this ‘road map’,” Arzumanyan said.