Paris, Oct 9 (AFP/APP):When Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shared a platform in a rare encounter at February’s Munich Security Conference, they were both asked to give a historical overview of Nagorno-Karabakh. It did not end well. “In order to talk about how to resolve the conflict first we need to go back and look at the issue of history,” declared Aliyev, arguing it is “historical truth” that Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan. “I would ask President Aliyev not to go too far into history,” retorted Pashinyan, asserting that the region only became part of Azerbaijan due to a decision taken in the early years of the Soviet Union. The testy English-language exchange provided a stark illustration over how radically different views of history impede the search for a solution in the most intractable conflict left by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Two weeks into the fiercest fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh since a 1990s war prompted when the region declared unilateral independence, analysts say the historical burden prevents Armenia and Azerbaijan reaching a long-term agreement, with fighting only halted by short-lived ceasefires. For Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of the Azerbaijani state and is … Continue reading Shadow of history makes Karabakh solution elusive