CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VIII (2) ContEurVIII2 | Page 51

CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VIII (2)
In fact, Azerbaijan's approach to the status issue has remained
unchanged, while Armenia's "Artsakh is Armenia and that is all" formula
deviates from the approach announced earlier by the Armenian
authorities, including in the settlement package, that the people of
Artsakh should decide the future of Artsakh. That is, the issue of the final
status must be resolved through a referendum. In the statements of the
mediators, no special attention was paid to the territorial issue, and the
parties did not address it separately.
The internal political developments of the conflicting sides have a
direct and indirect impact on the negotiation process of the settlement of
the conflict, as well as on the perception of the conflict. These
developments determine the situation in the region. As Henry Kissinger
points out, world order describes the concept held by a region about the
nature of just arrangements and the distribution of power thought to be
applicable to the entire world.
These systems of order are themselves based on two components: a
set of commonly accepted rules that define the limits of permissible
action and a balance of power that enforces restraint where rules break
down. 9 The internal political developments in the countries of the region
may lead to the disruption of these arrangements and balances and lead to
changes in the order of the region. In the case of unresolved conflicts, the
quality of dialogue and atmosphere of confidence between the parties
play important roles for the implementation of arrangements and for
peace in the region in general.
The agenda of the negotiation process during this period was
mainly focused on coordinating measures aimed at improving the
atmosphere of trust for dialogue. There had been some dynamics in this
regard after the oral agreement reached between the leaders of Armenia
and Azerbaijan in Dushanbe on September 28, 2018 on "decreasing the
tension on borders and overall, preventing border incidents and
establishing operative communication between the parties." These
arrangements have been maintained for some time, which somehow have
reduced the number of border incidents and casualties.

September
16,
2019,
https://www.primeminister.am/hy/interviews-and-press-
conferences/item/2019/09/16/Nikol-Pashinyan-Press-Conference/ (accessed September
20, 2019).
9 Henry Kissinger, World Order: Reflections on the Character of Nations and the Course
of History (London: Allen Lane, 2014), 6, 7.
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