In his words, during the critical battles for Shusha and Lachin the Azeri troops left for Baku to meddle in the internal political disorders. "The greatest territorial surrenders were Aghdam and Fizuli and they occurred in 1994," de Waal noted.

At the same time he noted that anyone knows that the geographical map cannot be changed. "Armenians and Azeris will always have to live as neighbors and it's painful to see that the two societies abide by the slogan "Karabakh is ours and it's inseparable". Neither of the parties is ready for compromise that is why it's hard to achieve complete peace," the journalist said.

Thomas de Waal says the leadership of Armenia and Azerbaijan is responsible for it. "The peaceful plan is generally outlined. Karabakh will de-facto maintain the present status with the corridor to Armenia; Azerbaijan will receive its lands back and refugees will be allowed to return… However the settlement process cannot be started without dialogue and mutual trust," he underscored.

"I think Armenia doesn't fully understand the pain that Azeris suffer over the loss of the territories. I am not speaking about Karabakh. I am speaking about the big territories and towns which are completely ruined and empty now – Aghdam, Fizuli, Jabrail, Kubatly… But it's known that any peaceful agreement will provide for the return of these territories. Armenians should openly speak of it to make Azerbaijani radicals think what they want to fight for. As a matter of fact, 90% of the issues are settled and the negotiation process stumbles over the Karabakh status only," he said.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/