New status quo in Karabakh lays foundation for resumption of conflict

The information on the parties to the Karabakh conflict about the establishment of a new contact line of armed forces is contradictory; however, a change of the status quo lays down a shaky foundation for ceasefire agreements, since the latter are beneficial for the party, which committed territorial conquests.

The situation in the conflict zone got aggravated at night on April 2. Today, the parties have declared an armistice.

The change of the new contact line, fixed at ceasefire as of April 5, threatens a new escalation. The party that took control over the new positions as compared with the situation at night on April 2, will motivate the resumption of fights for further territorial gains, since the current ceasefire actually approves the new demarcation line. If Baku confirms its statements about the control over new positions, we can talk about the fixing of a new status quo, beneficial for Azerbaijan – these are the conclusions made by the "Caucasian Knot" based on the information announced by the parties in conflict.

Representatives of Stepanakert assert that the earlier lost positions have been regained by the Karabakh Armed Forces. This was stated by Albert Andryan, the head of the representative office of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) in Russia.

However, on the contrary, representatives of the Azerbaijani party have reported an advance to new position.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.