According to political analyst Richard Giragosian, the reason that the parliament of New South Wales passed a resolution recognizing the right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination is because Artsakh’s diplomacy is getting stronger.

“The Australian decision or those by various states in the U.S. are a by-product of Artsakh’s growing strength on the diplomatic level,” Giragosian told reporters today in Yerevan,

Giragosian said that while he doesn’t want to celebrate just yet, without real facts on the ground, the fact that he met with a member of the Australian Parliament who is planning to visit Stepanakert is quite encouraging.

The analyst said that the appointment of Karen Mirzoyan as Artsakh Foreign Minister was a positive step.

“Karabakh, in terms of foreign affairs and diplomacy is getting stronger. Here, the mistakes of Azerbaijan play a role,” Giragosian said.

Regarding the meeting in Paris on October 27 between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Giragosian noted that the most interesting thing was that they met at all given the recent diplomatic flap over the release of Ramil Safarov and his pardon by President Aliyev.

Giragosian said he had no expectations from the meeting in terms of progress on the Karabakh issue.

“The importance of the meeting isn’t what Nalbandian or Mammadyarov said. Of greater significance was that the meeting was a test for the Minsk Group an international public opinion at a time when Azerbaijan must pay for its bellicose statements and unacceptable behavior regarding the Safarov issue.”

As to what impact the November 6 U.S. presidential election might have vis-à-vis Artsakh, Giragosian noted that both major candidates, Obama and Romney, place great importance on Azerbaijan’s oil reserves.

He noted that the Republicans have a tendency to be more involved in the energy business and thus have closer ties with the government in Baku. As a consequence, Mitt Romney might be more vulnerable to the allure of Azerbaijani oil.

“On the other hand, Romney has no foreign policy experience and will not have a firm grasp of the Karabakh conflict. I’m not saying that Obama has been such a great supporter of Karabakh but if he’s re-elected it would be generally better. Romney would be more dangerous this he doesn’t understand the Karabakh conflict and is indifferent towards it,” Giragosian said.

As a U.S. citizen, Giragosian, a Democrat, said he’d be voting for Obama.

In terms of U.S. – Armenia relations, the analyst said ties between the two countries would remain close whoever is elected on November 6.