Radar Armenia's interlocutor is Shahan Gantaharyan, an international scholar.

- Louis Bono, Senior Adviser on Caucasian Negotiations at the US Department of State, is in the region. What does this visit mean at this stage?

- There is a particular urgency in activating the peace negotiations with the mediation of the USA and perhaps signing a peace treaty. In return, Moscow declares that the parties are not ready to sign a peace agreement. It is a paradoxical situation. A geopolitical conflict is going on with the slogan of reaching peace. Of course, peace is not the goal of the leading players but a means for forming a sphere of influence in the region.

- Matthew Miller, the spokesperson of the US State Department, referring to the peace treaty negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, noted that both sides must make difficult compromises to make the peace treaty available. What complex means does the American side expect from Azerbaijan?

- In the short term, the Azerbaijani "concession" is visible. The official press release about the Blinken-Aliev telephone conversation mentioned an alternative path and spoke of bold compromises. It is understood that Baku will concede to opening the Berdzor Corridor, in return for which the Armenian side will accept humanitarian assistance via the Aghdam Road, which is purely an Azerbaijani agenda. According to the US, this is the agenda of the census, which should be carried out under the guarantee of a new international instrument. But Blinken's indirect allusion to Aghdam goes further. It is a step aimed at canceling the tripartite agreement.

- The sending of humanitarian goods by Armenia to Artsakh was followed by the abduction of a citizen being transported to Armenia by the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross by Azerbaijan. Do you see a connection between these two actions?

- Baku called the sending of humanitarian goods to Artsakh a provocation. And with its approach, it responds with provocation by kidnapping the citizen of Artsakh who is being transported through the Red Cross. This testifies that Baku can abduct any transporter from the checkpoint at anytime. The November agreement has a free movement clause, which Baku severely violates by setting up a checkpoint.

- The Azerbaijani side expects Armenia to support exploiting the Aghdam-Stepanakert road if it wants peace. It also demands to prove that it recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. What should Armenia do?

- The Armenian side should take two fundamental directions at the moment. First, the Russian side endlessly demanded respect for the tripartite agreement, stressing that it is only possible to proceed to other agreements when Baku appreciates what has already been agreed upon. Maintaining the tripartite framework is also in Moscow's interests, and here there is a visible point of combining Russian and Armenian interests. The second direction is that the international community should demand the immediate implementation of the interim decisions of the International Court of Justice and the ECHR. Adopting sanctions by the global family should be the strategic goal of the Armenian side. In this regard, if the political moment matures, Baku may find itself in isolation. That moment is not yet visible. However, there is still an international consensus on the declarative level with the demand to lift the siege of Baku.

- Director of the 4th Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Denis Gonchar, stated that the hastily and crudely prepared peace agreement between Baku and Yerevan may become the basis of new conflicts. What purpose does Russia pursue by delaying the signing of the peace treaty?

- Russia's goal is to prevent the involvement of the USA, EU, or any other international format in resolving the conflict. The crux of the content of Moscow's statements is that on the ground, it is Moscow that stopped the war, it is the one that secured the cease-fire agreement, and it is it that will continue to lead the peace agreement negotiations. Of course, this will be challenging and gentle; the collective West already has a presence in the region in various forms and conveys clear messages. The processes in the area will not proceed only according to the game rules defined by Russia.

Hayk Magoyan