YEREVAN. – The meeting of Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents proved that the negotiation process on Karabakh issue goes on, despite Azerbaijan tries to escape the OSCE Minsk Group format, director of the History Institute at the National Academy of Sciences Ashot Melkonyan said at a press conference on Wednesday.

He also said that Azerbaijan strives to escape the format as it prefers the military settlement of the conflict.

“Perspectives of the new war are far. Azerbaijan understands that the new war may be destructive having in front the former defeat. Meantime, its advantage of the army over the Armenia is just a myth,” Melkonyan said. 

According to him, Azerbaijan, on the one hand, is within the negotiation process, on the other, it claims that may leave if at any moment.

“Azerbaijan has no alternative. Currently the mediating states of the Karabakh peace process - France, U.S. and Russia - dictate the negotiation process. The recent Sochi meeting proved that the process goes on, while Azerbaijan cannot escape the MG, no matter how much it wished,” the expert said.

In response to the question whether it is possible to change the OSCE MG format in case Russian incumbent PM Vladimir Putin becomes the President, Melkonyan said that there will be no changes, moreover, Russia will not reject its mediating role.