Yerevan/Mediamax/. Former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Richard Kauzlarich believes Armenia and Azerbaijan should complete NK conflict resolution "framework discussions” by the fall of 2015.

The retired U.S. diplomat stated it in his “The Heydar Aliyev Era Ends in Azerbaijan Not with a Bang but a Whisper” article published on the website of Brookings research center.

Richard Kauzlarich noted that the end of Heydar Aliyev’s era came on December 3, 2014 when Head of Azerbaijan’s Presidential Apparatus Ramiz Mehdiyev published an article making a dead set at U.S. policy to Azerbaijan.

The former Ambassador noted that Mehdiyev’s article and exacerbated pressure on the civil society coincided with “the most serious military clashes with Armenia since the 1994 cease-fire”.  Richard Kauzlarich stated that this resulted in a “series of rhetorical attacks [of Azerbaijan – Mediamax] on the OSCE Minsk Group process and the United States for their failure to impose a settlement favorable to Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute”.

Richard Kauzlarich also made certain proposals to activate the conflict settlement process.

First of all, he believes that both sides should appoint fully-empowered negotiators to conduct face-to-face discussions based on the framework the Minsk Group has provided but without Minsk Group direct mediation. Secondly, Azerbaijan should reopen the political space for Track II contacts between Armenians and Azeris. Securing the release of Azerbaijani political prisoners accused of treasonous contact with Armenians is a necessary element for this.

Richard Kauzlarich suggested insisting that the “framework discussions” be completed by the fall of this year.

“We have passed the period where both parties can cite the Minsk Group for failing to settle the dispute while they refuse to engage in serious diplomacy. In 2014, the risk of war increased. In 2015, we do not have time to continue business as usual”, he noted.

In conclusion, Richard Kauzlarich noted that freeing political prisoners and seriously negotiating with Armenia about ending the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh are the only paths Azerbaijan can “earn the respect of the U.S.”.