Hürriyet: April war resulted in improving Azerbaijan’s tactical positions

Baku. 18 April. REPORT.AZ/ "The “four-day war” in April 2016 brought Azerbaijan and Armenia the closest they have been to all-out war in Nagorno-Karabakh (NK) since the 1994 truce. It marked the most serious escalation in hostilities in terms of both military hardware and human loss. In the two decades since, violence along the Line of Contact has erupted periodically with increasing intensity".

Report informs, says an article published in the Turkish edition Hurriyet Daily.

"Broadly, the four-day war resulted in improving Azerbaijan’s tactical positions along the Line of Contact. In terms of gaining a psychological advantage, the success erased the myth that the Armenian defensive line is highly capable of launching any attack. Baku also sought to go beyond rhetorical threats, demonstrating that it has the capability to use force to liberate the occupied territories if necessary. 

The initial expectation after the April clashes - following the ceasefire brokered by Moscow - was that increased international awareness would see the West and Moscow cooperating to bring both sides to the negotiating table. However, since the Vienna meeting in May 2016, the Western countries have essentially disappeared, leaving Russia to fill this particular power vacuum", the paper reads.

The edition notes that the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group do not seem to have any desire to revitalize negotiations.

"The current U.S. administration is not interested in activity in the South Caucasus, and early indications of a “Russia First” policy in the post-Soviet space (except for Ukraine and Georgia) offer little hope for engagement in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution. Preferences seem to be oriented towards maintaining the fragile military-political status quo, leaving any conflict resolution initiatives to Moscow. But in the end the domestic political developments in Armenia - the hostage crisis and public challenge to the alliance with Moscow - followed by the supply of Russian missiles, diminished those prospects", the article ends.