Thomas De Waal, an analyst of the "Carnegie" Foundation and a specialist in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, spoke about the recent Armenian-Azerbaijani clashes, the aggressive actions of Azerbaijan, and the prospects facing Armenia.

According to Vaal, Azerbaijan's military operations in the territory of Armenia seriously damaged the possibilities of settlement. "EU-mediated negotiations, the only viable, peaceful negotiations, need greater international support." Vaal referred to Russia's role in the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace, differentiation, and demarcation negotiations. "Russia is still an intermediary with powerful interests, even if it is not trusted as an honest intermediary. It is reported that Moscow has also come up with a draft peace treaty that indefinitely postpones the issue of the status of Karabakh, a formula that Armenians like better than the European proposal.

In his speech, Vaal also noted that for the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process to succeed, the Charles Michel process, which is currently the only viable one, should be much more strongly supported by the European Commission, EU member states, and the United States. "If it fails, the two sad alternatives are that mediation will go back to Moscow, or worse, that both sides will prepare for the next war."

In conclusion, Waal wrote: "The problem that has been haunting all mediators of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since 1991 is that no one pays the price for saying "no." "Leaders think they can publicly renege on what they agreed to in private meetings, play for time or use force."