Alexey Ostrovsky: Escalation on threshold of Aliyev-Sargsyan meeting will affect

Political dialogue is the only acceptable way of settling territorial disputes in the 21^st century, Alexey Ostrovsky, Chairman of the Committee for CIS Affairs , RF State Duma, told NEWS.am, commenting on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s statement on November 20. The Azeri leader stated that Azerbaijan will be free to withdraw from the negotiations and resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh problem by force unless the forthcoming Armenian-Azerbaijani presidential meeting in Munich fails.

A military way of settling the conflict runs counter to the interests of the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples, Ostrovsky said. He stressed that escalating the situation on the threshold of the Aliyev-Sargsyan meeting will certainly affect the results. The Russian parliamentarian urged the sides to show restraint in making statements. “No matter which of the sides has greater military or financial potential, war results will be disastrous for everyone,” Ostrovsky said. He stressed that the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders could have reached a compromise long ago but for the nationalist forces’ pressure.

As regards the meeting scheduled for November 22, he stressed that, with the best will in the world, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs will never get any results without the Armenian and Azerbaijani authorities’ political will.