Armenians not guilty of Azeri child's death, expert says

The Armenian military has nothing to do with the Azerbaijani girl's tragic death, the leader of the International Eurasian Movement, Prof. Alexander Dugin said in an interview with the Baku-based Zerkalo newspaper.

"I would first if all like to note that the Nagorno-Karabakh problem cannot be viewed out of global context. I mean that it is third parties rather than the conflicting parties themselves that are interested in escalation of the conflict. In any case, we can clearly see the extra-regional forces' strategic interests in the region. I think it is the United States, which is interested in realignment of forces in the South Caucasus and escalation of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. I think that U.S. diplomats are provoking Azerbaijan into resuming war. At the same time, they are giving Yerevan a hint that they would not object to recognizing Nagorno-Karabakh provided Armenia puts an end to its orientation to Russia. I am almost sure that neither Armenians nor Azerbaijanis are guilty of the girl's death. We are dealing with a network of agents in the buffer zone. The network is interpreting any conflict in its own interests. Americans' task is now to set Armenians and Azerbaijanis against each other in Nagorno-Karabakh. I used to forecast such developments and I am still sure of it," Dugin said.

As regards the Armenian-Azerbaijani-Russian presidential meeting in Kazan, as well as Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's proposals concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, the expert said:

"I am sure that all the sides are interested in at least maintaining the status quo. That is, no one is interested in Armenian-Azerbaijani reconciliation. No side is seeking progress. It is a stalemate. That is why Moscow diplomats' only task is dragging out and leaving things as they are. Both Iran and Turkey are interested in it. So at the present stage of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict no effect is the best effect. It is not paradox at all, but a geopolitical analysis," Dugin said.

Regionalizing the Nagorno-Karabakh problem would make it possible to oust the western powers from the process, the expert said.

"Even if it does not produce any results, it is a most valuable initiative. Regionalizing the Nagorno-Karabakh problem means ousting the United States and, which is desirable, European states. If we are able to neutralize this external force, it will produce very good results. That is, the Nagorno-Karabakh problem must be discussed by the conflicting parties themselves, as well as by Russia, with its regional interests, Iran, which as a large Azerbaijani population and is involved in the regional strategic processes and Turkey , which views Azerbaijan as its ally," Dugin said.