International expert:

The offensive on Iran would have far-reaching consequences and would send shockwaves throughout the region even without being compounded by the renewed hostilities in Nagorno Karabakh, Jana Kobzova, expert at European Council for Foreign Relations, told ArmInfo. 

Proceeding with the possible developments if case of an attack on Iran, she said the option of another war over Nagorno Karabakh has been on table ever since the hostilities ceased in early 1990s. On the other hand, both Armenia and Azerbaijan are mostly trying to promote the settlement of the conflict in a peaceful. "While the risk of accidental war cannot be excluded, I don't think it's very likely that Azerbaijan's government would pursue such a brinkmanship strategy vis-a-vis Nagorno Karabakh - it would harm their own interests including possibly energy transit infrastructure, thus risking not only Azerbaijan's image (being portrayed as an aggressor) but also its image of a reliable gas and oil exporter, Kobzova 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)