Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

BAKU: Armenia inclined to stage-by-stage Karabakh settlement - OSCEe

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • BAKU: Armenia inclined to stage-by-stage Karabakh settlement - OSCEe

    Armenia inclined to stage-by-stage Karabakh settlement - OSCE ex-mediator

    Ekho web site, Baku
    2 Apr 05

    The parties to the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict should give up
    categorical demands and statements and start the process of a
    stage-by-stage settlement, which stands to yield better results in
    the negotiations, Vladimir Kazimirov, Russian diplomat and former
    co-chairman of the Minsk Group of the OSCE, has said in an interview
    with the Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho. At the same time, Kazimirov
    touched on the recent hearings in the Armenian parliament and said that
    more people in Armenia start accepting the stage-by-stage option. He
    also gave the newspaper an open letter to the OSCE chairman-in-office,
    Dimitrij Rupel, in which he urges the OSCE to take more effective
    steps towards mediation in the conflict. The following is the text of
    N. Aliyev's and R. Orucov's report by Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho web
    site on 2 April headlined "Vladimir Kazimirov: 'Yerevan is talking
    about a stage-by-stage plan'" and subheaded "The former Russian
    co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group had an argument with deputies in
    the Armenian parliament". Subheadings have been inserted editorially:

    The Armenian parliament this week organized hearings on ways of
    settling the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict. They were supposed to result
    in the elaboration of a consolidated approach of all the actions of the
    National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia to the method of settling
    the frozen conflict. As well as members of the Armenian government,
    Vladimir Kazimirov, Russian diplomat and former co-chairman of the
    OSCE Minsk Group, took part in these sessions.

    Armenian hearings useful

    [Journalist] What impressions did you get from these hearings?

    [Kazimirov] It was important for the Armenians in the sense of
    relations between the authorities and the opposition, as well as for
    public opinion. Of course, no-one disclosed any particular secrets
    there, yet public opinion got some degree of satisfaction with the
    fact that no work is under way in secrecy from the people in the
    interests of settling the conflict. So in this sense, the hearings
    achieved their goal. However, part of the opposition avoided taking
    part in them because they decided that this was some sort of show,
    but some other representatives of the opposition did make speeches
    and, incidentally, there were people among them who only criticized
    the authorities for their unsatisfactory work on the settlement of
    the conflict. But this was relatively constructive criticism and was
    not aimed at undermining the foundations of the authorities' position
    on the settlement. I have the impression that this was useful anyway.

    Armenia tends towards the stage-by-stage option

    [Journalist] Were some new thoughts voiced at the hearings? Was some
    possible compromise discussed?

    [Kazimirov] Thoughts about the acceptability of the stage-by-stage
    settlement were voiced more often than before. If in the previous
    years we heard exclusively: "package deal, package deal", this time
    around, without a single mention of the package deal option at all,
    many people expressed the general idea that if things keep going
    as before, we will not be able to guarantee any more that combat
    operations will not resume in the future. This fully coincides with
    what I have been writing all the time, supporting the idea of the
    stage-by-stage settlement. I have been openly telling this to the
    Armenians for a long time. A package deal is a very difficult thing,
    whereas a stage-by-state approach is a subtle matter.

    [Journalist] Why?

    [Kazimirov] Because even a small failure at any stage will immediately
    thwart the whole process, and work will be suspended. Punctuality and
    the fulfilment of obligations are required from both sides here. I
    compare this process with the idea of spinning cog-wheels. If two
    cog-wheels spin and two cogs fall out, that's it, the mechanism
    stops. It is impossible to fix it. That's why the stage-by-stage
    settlement is impossible without firm guarantees that all the issues
    will be resolved exclusively by using peaceful means. Because judging
    from a purely pragmatic point of view, even with some tinge of
    cynicism - who will give up more convenient positions on the ground
    in order to find himself embroiled in combat operations afterwards,
    but already on less convenient positions. Still, despite the fact that
    the stage-by-stage settlement is more advantageous to the Azerbaijani
    side, one cannot avoid it.

    [Journalist] There were reports that you criticized the Armenian side
    at the hearings for its use of terminology. For example, for describing
    the occupied territories as "liberated". How did they react to this?

    [Kazimirov] Variously. One of the esteemed deputies deliberately
    started to make his return speech in Russian, and kept
    trying to prove that presumably, these were actually liberated
    territories. Unfortunately, I did not get the opportunity to reply
    from the rostrum, so I had to talk to him in the corridor. I noted
    that Armenians are settling in and outside Nagornyy Karabakh and asked
    him whether he wanted to go back to the Middle Ages, for if he did,
    then we should start rebuilding Gengiz-Khan's empire and ancient
    Rome. We should think about what is real and what is not. There is
    no need to restore some imaginary borders, people have already been
    evicted from there.

    Armenia is a party to the conflict

    [Journalist] Was anything said about the possibility of direct
    negotiations between Azerbaijan and Nagornyy Karabakh? Or about
    Karabakh's involvement in the current negotiating process?

    [Kazimirov] I heard these sorts of statements from [Nagornyy Karabakh
    separatist President Arkadiy] Gukasyan, but he did not take part in
    the hearings. He voiced the opinion that sooner or later Azerbaijan
    will be forced to hold talks with Nagornyy Karabakh. Others too spoke
    in this vein, but it is my point of view that all the parties to the
    conflict should be involved in the talks. I spoke to the organizer of
    the hearings MP [Armen] Rustamyan. He came up with the theory that
    Armenia is not a party to the conflict, but only a guarantor of the
    security of Nagornyy Karabakh.

    I said that the purpose of my visit was not to take part in the
    arguments about the "sign boards" behind which this or that party
    to the conflict was hiding. I think that Armenia is a party to
    the conflict. One can say that Armenia took part in all the combat
    operations. I reminded them that our side has always urged Armenia not
    to hide behind wordings, since as early as President Ter-Petrosyan's
    time. Especially as the Republic of Armenia is a signatory to the
    cease-fire agreement.

    Limits of possible concessions

    [Journalist] Did you sense where the limits of possible concessions
    by the Armenians side were?

    [Kazimirov] [Armenian Foreign Minister] Vardan Oskanyan asked this
    question. He said that he would not talk about possible concessions,
    but could say that Armenia would not make any. They are not ready to
    stop protecting ethnic Armenians in Nagornyy Karabakh and are not
    ready to agree that Nagornyy Karabakh will remain an enclave under
    the jurisdiction of Azerbaijan.

    [Journalist] Hearings are scheduled for May in Moscow. What sort of
    event is that?

    [Kazimirov] It will be dedicated to the anniversary of signing
    the cease-fire agreement. We have held these sorts of events twice
    already. On 16-17 May, we will discuss in Moscow the origins of the
    Karabakh problems and settlement issues. The hearings are held in the
    form of analytical consultations, and are conducted by former Soviet
    Foreign Minister Aleksandr Bessmertnykh, Association of Russian
    Diplomats and World Peacekeeping Organization [as published]. At
    the last event of this type, Azerbaijan was represented broadly -
    Eldar Namazov [political analyst, the president of the public forum
    For Azerbaijan and former presidential aide], Tofiq Zulfuqarov
    [former foreign minister] and other well-known figures. Armenians
    were less well represented, but they promised to behave this time
    around. [Interview ends]

    Open letter to OSCE chairman-in-office

    In addition, Vladimir Kazimirov handed to Ekho the text of an open
    letter to incumbent OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Slovenian Foreign Minister
    Dimitrij Rupel.

    "As I am visiting Yerevan on the very eve of your visits to Armenia
    and Azerbaijan, I would like to voice my concern about the stagnation
    in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict and a number of ideas that
    aim at unblocking it.

    1. The OSCE has been actively involved in this for 13 years now,
    but both nations have not thus far felt any results, except for the
    observance of the cease-fire since May 1994. Quite a few decisions
    have been adopted both by the UN Security Council and under OSCE
    sponsorship, but they largely remain on paper. Failure to implement
    UN Security Council resolutions in a timely fashion and betting
    on the strong-arm method of settling the conflict have created the
    existing anomalies in the area, as well as the deformation of the
    negotiating process and its stalling. One of the sides has blocked the
    convention of the Minsk conference of the OSCE. Both the parties to
    the conflict and the OSCE structures have travelled quite far from
    the most comprehensive solution to Karabakh, which was adopted 10
    years ago at the Budapest summit (with the personal participation of
    the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan). This decision has never
    been cancelled or reviewed, and it was the foundation for giving a
    mandate to the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen.

    It is widely known that they were asked to hold talks as soon
    as possible between the parties to the conflict. Occasional
    meetings between the foreign ministers and even more rare meetings
    between the presidents of the two countries can hardly even be
    called negotiations. Now consultations are seldom held to find
    (again!) initial points of common interests. New pauses are drawing
    near due to the elections. In short, the existing imitation of the
    negotiating process, when it struggles to survive, is not consistent
    either with the OSCE decision in Budapest or with the importance of
    the settlement in Karabakh for both nations and for the entire region,
    or with the expectations of millions of people suffering from this.

    2. I think that the co-chairmen might as well not limit themselves
    to "servicing" rare bilateral meetings - it is important to direct
    the discussions towards the realistic goal of mutual compromises,
    rejecting maximalist requests by the sides and arguments that
    they have reached the limit of concessions - this is not right at
    all. They might also propose that the sides (openly or implicitly)
    recognize Nagornyy Karabakh and its status as the reason and the
    main disputable problem of the conflict, which should be eliminated,
    as should be eliminated its dire consequences.

    3. The series of armed incidents that take place periodically along
    the line of contact between the sides in Karabakh, and especially the
    spin that is zealously put on them in propaganda campaigns to increase
    tension create a strange impression. It is also strange because on
    6 February 1995, the agreement on the regulation of incidents that
    was officially signed at the initiative of the OSCE Minsk Group
    co-chairmen came into effect. The OSCE is also keeping silent about
    this, although this was the only agreement on its record that was
    signed by all the parties.

    4. There is an obvious systematic bellicose campaign and direct
    threats of strong-arm revenge, which are regularly uttered by the
    most high-level officials under the slogan "at any price". However,
    no-one has the courage to venture to tell this "price" to the people
    in terms of the extent of new troubles, thousands of human lives, or
    tens or hundreds of thousands of new internally displaced people. No
    matter if they explain this by citing domestic political needs or
    much as they might comfort themselves with the thought that this is
    but rhetoric and unrealistic for now, the damage from this campaign
    is obvious and diverse."

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Working...
X