President of Armenia:

"I think that there is such probability for I cannot understand why Azerbaijan protracts the negotiation process. Probably, there are plans with accumulation of more forces and armament to try to unleash a new military aggression at a well-chosen moment," the president said.

He said that it is a wrong approach because two scenarios of developments are possible.

 "First - total war and further occupation of Nagorny Karabakh, which is possible only after total annihilation of the Nagorny Karabakh people. And second - defeat of Azerbaijan and lost of new territories. Then Azerbaijan will start complaining for the loss of another five, six or more regions. And what then? Again ceasefire, treaties, ceasefire breaches, new war: None of these scenarios have perspectives," Sargsyan said.

He added that in case of new hostilities Armenia will really recognize NKR.

"Another more direct question is often asked: Why doesn't Armenia recognize independence of Nagorny Karabakh? Because we are negotiating and recognition will break the negotiations. It is better continuing the negotiations," the president said.

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Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host  persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community. He is also the first co-chair of the Action Committee for a new Armenian-Azerbaijani Dialogue. Last September he made history by being the first Azerbaijani civil society activist to visit Armenia after the 44 day war, and the start of the peace process. Speaking about this visit Murad Muradov said: "My experience was largely positive. My negative expectations luckily didn’t play out. The discussions were respectful, the panel format bringing together experts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey was particularly valuable during the NATO Rose-Roth Seminar in Yerevan, and media coverage, while varied in tone, remained largely constructive. Some media outlets though attempted to represent me as more of a government mouthpiece than an independent expert, which was totally misleading.  Overall, I see these initiatives as important steps in rebuilding trust and normalising professional engagement. The fact that soon a larger Azerbaijani civil society visits to Armenia followed, reinforces the sense that this process is moving in the right direction." (click the image to read the interview in full)