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Baku Is Afraid Of Becoming Belgrade

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  • Baku Is Afraid Of Becoming Belgrade

    BAKU IS AFRAID OF BECOMING BELGRADE
    by Arkady Dubnov

    DEFENSE and SECURITY
    June 16, 2008 Monday
    Russia

    On what Aliev and Sarkisyan agreed in St. Petersburg

    PRESIDENTS OF AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA TRY TO BRING THE NAGORNO-KARABAKH
    REGULATION OUT OF A DEAD END; The recent meeting of the presidents of
    Armenia and Azerbaijan Serzh Sarkisyan in the framework of an informal
    CIS summit in St. Petersburg remained in the periphery for Russian
    and Western observers. Meanwhile, according to its importance, it is
    outstanding among similar meetings of leaders of the two conflicting
    countries.

    The recent meeting of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan Serzh
    Sarkisyan in the framework of an informal CIS summit in St. Petersburg
    remained in the periphery for Russian and Western observers. Meanwhile,
    according to its importance, it is outstanding among similar meetings
    of leaders of the two conflicting countries.

    American co-chair of the Minsk group, Mathew Braiza, stated,
    "the meeting passed in a constructive and positive atmosphere. The
    presidents decided to continue the negotiation process on the basis
    of the proposals submitted by the co-chairs in Madrid."

    The Armenian party also considers results of the negotiations in
    St. Petersburg important. Meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia
    and Azerbaijan, Edvard Nalbandyan and Elmar Mamedyarov, took place
    immediately after the negotiations of Aliev and Sarkisyan. After that
    they reported at a press conference that another visit of the co-chairs
    of the Minsk group to the region might take place at the end of June,
    "taking into account the schedules of the presidents and the foreign
    ministers."

    Due to an already established tradition, the parties do not disclose
    the details of the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations. However,
    neither of them denied the reports, saying that at the current
    stage the countries discuss the proposals of the intermediaries
    from OSCE connected with the procedure of a referendum of residents
    of Nagorno-Karabakh about its future status. Another topic is the
    possible liberation of the territories adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh
    and occupied by Armenia. It is possible to get a certain notion about
    the proposals from the statement of Braiza. According to Azerbaijani
    news agency Day.az, the Americans announced that "as soon as the
    territories are returned to Azerbaijan, they will be demilitarized,
    international peacekeeping forces will be stationed there and the
    armed forces of Armenia will leave."

    Along with this, Braiza emphasized that there would be no agreement
    should it be unacceptable for Armenia: "I agree that there will be a
    certain risk for the Armenian President if he agreed with the return
    of the territories to Azerbaijan. There is also a political risk
    in Azerbaijan if Armenia is given what it wants in exchange for an
    agreement to return the territories." Braiza pointed the attention
    of the Armenian party to some attractive aspects like creation of a
    corridor between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia and the procedure of
    determining the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.

    Azerbaijani political scientist Vugar Seilov presumes that a proposal
    to insert international peacekeepers to the conflict zone may become a
    trap for Baku. According to Seilov, from such a step "Western countries
    started removing Kosovo from Serbia gradually and unnoticeably for
    the Serbs." So far, there was no official reaction from Baku and
    Yerevan to the statement of Braiza.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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