The situation around Ukraine, particularly, the annexation of Crimea by Russia has considerably complicated the Karabakh peace process, Sabine Freizer, a senior fellow of the Atlantic Council, said in an online interview when replying to ArmInfo's question.
She stressed that according to the basic principles, which have been discussed since 2004-2005, the peace process should be based on non-use of force, territorial integrity and peoples' right to self-determination. All these elements have been undermined in Crimea, she said.
The analyst thinks that the most important thing for the Armenian side is the referendum on the future status of Karabakh and international security guarantees. However, following the violation of the Budapest declaration and after the Crimean referendum, which did not comply with the Kyiv agreements, it is not clear what the agreements on security guarantees and the referendum on Karabakh's status should look like.
Freizer believes that the Ukrainian war has inflicted no damage to the US-Russia cooperation within the OSCE Minsk Group. Nevertheless, after August 2014, when Russian President Vladimir Putin invited his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts to Sochi in the absence of the high-ranking French or US representatives, it has become clear that Russia plays a crucial role in the talks. The analyst pointed out that Russia, the US and the EU have stopped similarly commenting on the international law and on the Helsinki Final Act.
Experts, analysts and politicians give interviews to Armenian media within the framework of the "Region" Research Center's project "Topical Dialogues on Armenia's New Integration Agenda."