Azerbaijan’s defense expenditures are evidence of fading hopes for a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Arye Gut, an Israeli expert in international law, told Vesti.az.

No breakthrough in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process should be expected at the OSCE Summit in Astana. “I can hardly believe that the sides will be able to finally agree on the fundamental settlement principles that would underlie a peace agreement,” he said.

Referring to Azeri political analysts and military experts, Gut concludes that diplomatic means of resolving the conflicts have been exhausted. The fact that Azeri diplomats participate in the negotiation process is evidence of the last glimmers of hope. On the other hand, Azerbaijan’s spending billions of U.S. dollars on defense rather than on social programs is evidence of fading hopes. So Armenians should remember that Azerbaijanis never waste money, Gut said.

Official Yerevan is satisfied with the status quo, which has been maintained for 18 years. However, this is not a case with Azerbaijan. According to the expert, war is the only way of resolving the problem. History proves that territories captured in war have never been returned after peace talks, Gut said.