AZE.US
A real public dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia is still a long way off, Azerbaijani political analyst Rovshan Ibrahimov said in an interview with the Daily Europe Online YouTube channel.
According to Ibrahimov, the contacts that exist today are still largely confined to experts rather than broader society. He said those meetings may help build a minimum level of trust, but they should not be mistaken for genuine reconciliation between the two peoples.
He argued that the conditions for a wider and more natural dialogue have not yet formed. In his view, mistrust remains deeply rooted, and resistance to a peace-oriented agenda still exists on both sides of the divide.
At the same time, Ibrahimov said it is notable that the number of people who believe common ground should be found is growing. Given that not much time has passed since the end of the active phase of the conflict, he said even limited attempts to maintain contact matter.
Speaking about public rhetoric during the years of conflict, Ibrahimov said negative perceptions of the other side were shaped in both Azerbaijan and Armenia. Still, he argued that some of the most extreme rhetoric, in his view, was heard from the Armenian side rather than from Azerbaijan.
Ibrahimov also addressed the issue of return. He said Baku’s emphasis on the right of Azerbaijanis to return emerged as a response to efforts to promote the return of Armenians to Karabakh outside the framework of Azerbaijan’s sovereignty. According to him, Armenians in Karabakh had been offered the option of remaining there under Azerbaijani citizenship, but chose to leave instead.
In his view, the issue of return remains largely political for now. He suggested that in the longer term, if relations normalize and the regional environment changes, such questions could be discussed in a different framework.
AZE.US