In the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict the West does not want to be on either the Armenian or Azerbaijani side. They just want no wars or bloodshed in the former Soviet Union, Alexander Rar, a European expert in energy and the CIS, stated in his interview with 1news.az.

If peace reigns there, the West is ready to invest capital and wants to exercise influence. But they do not have a key to help resolve the conflict, Rar said. The expert believes that hostilities will not resume, as the West will not support them. Azerbaijan’s statements on this possibility are mere attempts to exert pressure on the international community.

As regards the prospects for settling the conflict this year, Rar said that no radical changes should be expected. The European Union will only try to pressure Armenia and Azerbaijan into opening their economies for western investments. According to him, the EU will try to launch joint economic projects that would make the three Transcaucasian states one market.

The EU is making efforts to shape positive moods in both the states for the future generations to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh problem without intense emotions and reach an agreement, Rar said, without making any forecasts of Russia’s furthers. Russia will naturally support now Armenia now Azerbaijan. Armenia is Russia’s military ally. It is a deterrent factor for the West in the South Caucasus. Azerbaijan, in turn, is Russia’s major energy partner in the South Caucasus. So Russia has to “run with the hare and hunt with the hounds” like the EU does. The conflict is difficult to resolve as all the sides are looking at both the conflicting parties, Rar said.