As the dust begins to settle from a firefight between Azerbaijan and Armenian forces, their respective politicians have reverted to verbal warfare as international mediators work to contain the damage to longer term prospects for peace.

Ter-Petrosian does not have the backing of the entire opposition, he has won the support of a number of parties. As well as his own Armenian National Movement, he has secured the backing of Stepan Demirchian of the People’s Party.

On July 19, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) will elect a new president.  Turnout is expected at 70 percent to 80 percent.

A June 12 announcement by Azerbaijani Energy Minister Natik Aliyev on the possible joint exploration of an offshore Caspian Sea oil field could serve as the point of departure in a broad rapprochement.

ALEXEY VLASOV, SERGEI MIKHEEV

"Every year somebody says that the Commonwealth of Independent States is dead as organization. However, what do we need this organization for? Unfortunately, in many respects the question cannot be answered in an optimistic way", Alexey Vlasov.

KIRILL GAVRILOV

At present, Russia tries to persuade its closest allies to follow Moscow’s example and to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia’s independence. Armenia could be the first CIS country to support Moscow's decision.

ALEXEY MALASHENKO, ALEXEY VLASOV, RASIM MUSABEKOV, RASHAD RZAQULIYEV

"We should view the Russian-Azerbaijani relations in the context of shaping the Eurasian policy. It is Russia that plays a certain role in the formation of a new fair order in Eurasia", Rashad Rzaquliyev.

ROVSHAN IBRAHIMOV

On April 22, a regular meeting of the representatives of the Caspian countries on determination of the Caspian Sea legal status was over. The next, twenty third meeting is decided to be held in Baku.

VYACHESLAV NIKONOV, PRESIDENT OF THE RUSSKIY MIR FOUNDATION; VARTAN TOGANYAN, GENERAL DIRECTOR OF THE EURASIAN MEDIA GROUP

A fierce struggle has been waged, which becomes apparent in the street election campaigning and the press. In Armenia there are more than 300 foreign observers alone, with only about 1900 polling stations.

ROVSHAN IBRAHIMOV

On November 17, the gas pipeline connecting the Turkish and Greek gas networks was officially inaugurated in the Turkish city of Ipsala. This gas pipeline is significant because it provides an alternative to Russia's gas pipeline system.

VAGAN SHRIKHANIAN

After the visit of Robert Kocharian to Russia comments have appeared in Armenia that Russia appropriated the republic's telephony, that the gas pipeline from Iran to Armenia and Armenia’s railroad will also become Russia’s property.

SHAMSUDIN MAMAEV

Baku has already requested Kyiv the extradition of the former Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament Rasul Guliev, whose plane couldn’t land in Baku on October 17, 2005 and had to get into the aerodrome in the Ukrainian city of Simferopol. The Ukrainian police took him into custody since he had been on the Interpol wanted list. The Azerbaijani opposition leader Rasul Guliev is being accused of misappropriating of about $100 million of state property.

ANATOLY BELIAYEV

Predictably, BP Azerbaijan has said that it does not want to export oil produced in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea via the Baku-Novorossiisk pipeline. This means that Russia, which is already losing its influence on the Caucasus, will suffer serious economic losses.