Marat Terterov: Yes, the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is currently in a labyrinth. The process of negotiations that has been taking place over the past two to three years goes to show that the sides have found themselves in extremely heavy conditions without the opportunity to move forward and propose new ideas. So, it’s clear that we are in a labyrinth, and this means that it’s no longer possible to resolve the conflict with the current potential and principles that are being discussed. We need new ideas and new principles, especially since each of the sides is setting forth its own approaches which aren’t leading to consensus. Studies have shown that the co-chairs also lack new and hands-on proposals. This makes the problems more complicated, creates an inadmissible situation and further deepens the conflict, creating prerequisites for military intervention which the West is against. Today, the prohibition of the restart of military operations is in everyone’s interests. The restart of war may be fatal for the entire region since the relations here are extremely fragile.

“Hayern Aysor”: In the “shaping” of this labyrinth there are some problems that are also conditioned by Armenia’s economic situation and the country’s relations with the European Union. Whereas years ago Armenia was standing alone as he faced all the challenges, today, we can state that Armenia is gradually expanding its relations with international organizations, particularly the European Union.

M. T.: Armenia has plenty of supporters within the EU, and that’s thanks to Diaspora Armenian organizations and other resources to be among those supporting EU institutes. From the angle of culture and history, Armenia has a rather good image in the European Union. Within the framework of the agreement on cooperation and partnership between Armenia and Brussels, Armenia benefits from funding and support programs. The EU is also working on integrating Armenia into the European institutional territory through different kinds of agreements. I don’t know if there are more allocations for these programs, but I think they will continue since most of them have been established in interstate agreements for compulsory enforcement. I think the crisis in the Euro zone is having a greater impact on EU-member countries than on countries like Armenia.

“Hayern Aysor”: Let’s talk about economic stimulus.

M. T.: Economic stimulus plays the most important role in the conflict settlement today. The world always attaches importance to the formulas for economic empowerment and prefer those who shape a stable economy and contribute to the expansion of economy. Indeed, Azerbaijan especially continues to be viewed by its economic potential, often comes to terms not as much as with the too objective reality, as the historical and political points. However, it should be mentioned that there should be a lot of attention to the economic stimulus in Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Armenia is gradually regulating its economic problems, and today Nagorno-Karabakh has registered progress. The importance of economic interest is not primary, but it is a supporting condition.

“Hayern Aysor”: In your speech, you presented all the aspects of economic stimulus in detail. Let’s hope that once the materials of the conference are published, your speech becomes one of the most important documents that our diplomats can use.

M. T.: One of the major objectives of this conference is to establish certain bases. I welcome this conference since it provided us with the opportunity to discuss the many sides of all of our challenges and present the positions of scientists and political scientists that will definitely help us fight against the challenges.

“Hayern Aysor”: So, can we say that this conference met the objectives that had been set forth?

M. T.: Of course it did. For the first time, we had the opportunity to touch upon the issues of our concern through joint discussions. We were aware of the official opinions and initiatives, but there had to be scientific and analytical approaches. The conference gave us the opportunity to record another important step and think about the future.