If Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, it will recognize Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan. Alexander Skakov, deputy director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said this on the NEWS.am program The Power Factor.

"There is nothing new here. In the decades since the first Karabakh war, Armenia has not gone to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh's independence. The passivity of Armenia's policy has led to what we have now," he noted.

Formally, it is possible to recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, but what about the rights of the Armenian population living in this formally integrated Azerbaijan? If we recognize that this is entirely an internal affair of Azerbaijan, what will happen after some time with this population? "I think there should be a wording that suits both sides," Skakov stressed.

Azerbaijan's rejection of wording that would mention Nagorno-Karabakh, the expert called a dead end. "Peacekeepers are in Karabakh as long as there is Armenian population there, not only because of the controversial status of Nagorno-Karabakh. The contingent is there to ensure the rights and security of the population living in that territory. Baku's goal is not to have an Armenian population there by making life difficult: something we have already seen very well. The Azerbaijani authorities don't hide it. If there is no population, then why do we need peacekeepers?" Skakov stated.