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The Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict has not been settled yet. Not only the issue of Artsakh’s status has not yet been resolved, but also it has not been included in the priority agenda, Armenian military expert Tigran Abrahamyan, head of the analytical center Henaket, told a news conference on Wednesday.

According to him, Azerbaijan and Turkey constantly state that the issue of the status of Artsakh no longer exists, adding the territories of Artsakh, which are now under the control of the Armenian forces, will soon fall under Azerbaijan’s control.

“As for the prisoners of war (POWs), obviously one of the key provisions of the November 10 joint statement – the return of the prisoners – has not been fulfilled. Azerbaijan got the utmost from Point 8, while the only part of it beneficial for us – the return of all POWs – has not yet been implemented. If I am not mistaken, there are around 200 identified prisoners [in Azerbaijan], but they have not been released so far. Hence there is no will, demand or desire. It's a pity that we are making more concessions day by day,” he said.

Abrahamyan noted now Azerbaijan has new tools of pressure on Armenia and Artsakh, adding, first of all, it refers to Syunik Province, where some of the roads are either in the immediate vicinity of the Azerbaijani positions, or pass though the Azerbaijani-held areas.

“The biggest factor that currently prevents Azerbaijan from unleashing a war is the presence of Russian peacekeepers. In the presence of Russian troops, the likelihood of an outbreak of war is significantly reduced. Although renewed war is unlikely in the short term, its likelihood may increase in the medium and long terms,” the expert said.

Tigran Abrahamyan noted that at this stage Azerbaijan's threats of renewed war are more like blackmail aimed at achieving its desired result.

“Azerbaijan will try to get a positional advantage in any case. Currently we can see it in Syunik, while in the future it will expand to Vayots Dzor and Gegharkunik Provinces. It is regrettable, but after the weather conditions improve, Azerbaijan will start working on it as well. In the past 2-3 decades, we witnessed such a practice in the direction of Nakhichevan, Tavush and Artsakh. Experience tells us that Azerbaijan will do everything possible to take positions that are the most advantageous for it,” he said.