Azeridaily.com: Nikol Pashinyan’s ‘democratic government’ did not live up to the expectations of John Bolton, former adviser to the US president on national security. While in office, Bolton made visits to Azerbaijan and Armenia and tried to study what prospects the change of power in Armenia opened for resolving the Karabakh conflict.
In an interview with ArmNews TV channel John Bolton stated that the level of the Karabakh conflict had increased in many aspects. He explained what he meant when, during his visit to Armenia, he stated that the Armenian prime minister had excellent positions for making a decision on the Karabakh issue.
‘I was registering the fact of living in a democratic society. When a new leader of a country assumes the post, it is a period to see whether international conflicts, especially those in impasse, have an opportunity to break the stalemate. During the preliminary meetings there were encouraging signs, but it did not work during a year after my visit, and the degree of the conflict, in reality, has grown in many aspects. I think it is a loss for the two peoples — Azerbaijan and Armenia,’ he said.
Bolton noted that he understood how difficult it was to find a solution to this conflict.
‘I consider Caucasus a core region not only for those living there but the USA and the whole world. In reality, it is a very dangerous surrounding because of few of your neighbours. I would like the USA to focus more on this issue. I would like us to be more useful, but there are three small countries there surrounded with one big and two problematic from the South. I think the presence of the USA from outside increases the regional security, as we are not limited geographically,’ he said.
Recall that John Bolton was on a visit to the region in October 2018. While in Yerevan, John Bolton said that if Nikol Pashinyan’s party, which came to power during the revolution, won the early parliamentary elections, this would create good opportunities for decisive steps in the Karabakh issue. Then Bolton’s statement caused a great resonance, and even rumours began to circulate that the United States would use the coming to power of pro-Western forces in Armenia and put forward a new plan to resolve the conflict. Pashinyan’s opponents used the Bolton Plan to organise attacks on the new government.
However, Pashinyan not only failed to create any prerequisites for progress on the issue of resolving the conflict, but, having made provocative and adventurous statements, actually stalled the negotiation process.