As for Nagorno-Karabakh itself, the political scientist said ‘there will be a UN decision, maybe a referendum…’

He noted that no country recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent state.

President Ilham Aliyev attends award ceremony for Nobel Prize laureate Aziz Sancar receiving Alisher Navoi Int'l Prize

"Theoretically, it is possible to hold a referendum there [Karabakh], as in Crimea. This can only happen under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group, with the participation of Azerbaijanis expelled from Karabakh 30 years ago,” Rahr said.

He stressed that Azerbaijan can no longer hope for the implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions on Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Therefore, Baku has decided to retake the territories occupied by Armenia. Why UN resolutions, Madrid agreements were not implemented? Because the Armenian side has put forward a position on Nagorno-Karabakh at the international level, not on the principle of "state sovereignty", but on the principle of "self-determination of the population”, the political scientist added.

Rahr said Armenia refers to the experience of Kosovo, where the Albanian population has the right to secede from Serbia. “If this did not happen, the international community would support Azerbaijan’s right. I myself have participated in many conferences in Berlin where this legal issue was discussed.”

Rahr went on to say that the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is now a major problem for the UN Security Council.

“However, the call by the three world powers – the US, Russia and France - to cease hostilities did not produce any results,” he noted.

The political analyst urged the UN Security Council, the United States, Russia, France and the European Union to take urgent measures to ensure the cessation of a major war in the Caucasus, which could involve Turkey and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

“The decision to deploy peacekeepers to the region under the auspices of the United Nations (the OSCE is very weak) is a way out. But as you know, this requires the consent of both parties,” Rahr concluded.

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