CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VII (1, 2) Contemporary-Eurasia-3new | Page 129

LILIT GALSTYAN
they use violence and concentrate their eff orts to impede the settlements
of confl icts by delaying their peaceful resolution. 64 In its turn, mediation
has positive signifi cance by standing for an interactive and dynamic pro-
cess where the third party helps confl icting sides to resolve the confl ict
by means of negotiation and communication mechanisms. Hence, when
being a mediator, the third party is highly interested in the rapid confl ict
resolution. 65
The examination of the Russian mediation missions between 1991
and 2016 illustrated that none of the three Russian presidents had an in-
tention to instigate the confl ict over Nagorno-Karabakh. In other words,
Russia did not spoil the peaceful settlement of the NK confl ict. In con-
trast, throughout years, Russia used various negotiation and communi-
cation mechanisms to help the confl icting sides to resolve the NK con-
fl ict. Nonetheless, Russia did not act as a mediator in the NK confl ict
resolution process as Russia benefi ted from the chronic insolvency of the
confl ict. This is to say, that the constant mediation of the NK confl ict in-
creased the Russian positive reputation both within the international and
regional arena. What is more, the frozen format of the NK confl ict stood
as a good opportunity for Russia to preserve good relations with both Ar-
menia and Azerbaijan, by selling weapons and by staying neutral towards
the victory of either side. Nonetheless, even though when mediating the
confl ict over NK, Russia had an aim to establish a positive image and
preserve balanced relations with the opposing sides, it still controlled the
situation within the region and did not let NK confl ict split into war. What
is more, when comparing the three Russian presidential administrations it
was evident that there were cases when NK confl ict was standing on the
edge of its resolution. Hence, the content analysis of presidential state-
ments will give an opportunity to illustrate the diff erences between the
presidential eff orts to end the frozen confl ict.
3.1. Content Analysis
Table 1 presents the content analysis of six presidential statements,
separately showing the intensity means for the three Russian presidents.
When analyzing the statements of Boris Yeltsin, the table shows that the
category of regional stability has the highest mean (3.75) when compared
64
65
Stephen Stedman, “Spoiler Problems in Peace Processes,” International Security vol. 22, is-
sue No. 2 (1997): 6.
Jenonne Walker, “International mediation of Ethnic Confl icts,” Survival vol. 35, issue No. 1
(1993): 106.
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