Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

The OSCE Group For Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Settlement Disappointed

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

  • The OSCE Group For Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Settlement Disappointed

    THE OSCE GROUP FOR NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT DISAPPOINTED THE AZERBAIJANIS
    by Svetlana Gamova, Sohbet Mamedov

    DEFENSE and SECURITY
    March 19, 2008 Wednesday
    Russia

    DETERMINED TO HAVE MOSCOW CHANGE ITS STAND ON KARABAKH, BAKU IMPLIES
    THAT AZERBAIJANI-RUSSIAN RELATIONS MAY BE REVISED; Azerbaijan is
    disappointed by the stand of the OSCE Minsk Group on the UN General
    Assembly resolution and suspects foul play on the part of Moscow,
    Paris, and Washington.

    The UN hearings on "the occupied Azerbaijani territories" stirred
    all of Baku. Branding the UN resolution as triumph of the Azerbaijani
    democracy, Baku nevertheless wondered why the OSCE Minsk Group (Russia,
    France, and the United States designated to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh
    conflict) wouldn't second the document. A spokesman for the Azerbaijani
    Foreign Ministry even said that Baku might choose to revise relations
    with these countries.

    Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister, Araz Azimov, expressed
    bewilderment that Russia, France, and the United States voted against
    the UN resolution. These three countries are co-chairs in the OSCE
    Minsk Group, a structure set up to facilitate settlement of the
    Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azimov said Azerbaijan might decide to
    revise relations with Russia and some other UN countries that had voted
    against the resolution demanding the withdrawal of Armenian regular
    army from Karabakh. Azimov alleviated the gravity of his own words,
    however, by saying that "We believe that an important document, valid
    from the legal and political standpoint, has been adopted." According
    to the diplomat, the voting shouldn't upset the Azerbaijanis merely
    because Russia, the United States, and France had voted against.

    By and large, Baku welcomed the adoption of the UN General
    Assembly Resolution, "The Situation in the occupied territories of
    Azerbaijan". This document insists on an instantaneous, complete,
    and unconditional withdrawal of all Armenian forces from the occupied
    territories of Azerbaijan. The document confirmed the right of the
    population driven from the occupied territories to return to their
    homes. It also recognized the necessity of normal, safe, and equal
    living conditions for the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of
    the Nagorno-Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

    "As for the position of the OSCE Minsk Group, they are clearly
    out to demonstrate that they do not have anything to do with the
    decisions made by international organizations including the UN,"
    political scientist Fikret Sadykhov said. According to Sadykhov, these
    countries view themselves as instrumental players and emphasize their
    willingness to operate only within the framework of the OSCE mandate.

    The Azerbaijani general public in the meantime is clearly perplexed.

    Governments of the countries running the OSCE Minsk Group make a
    lot of references to territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. When it
    came down to adoption of an actual document, however, these countries
    reneged on the principles they themselves had pledged to uphold. Most
    Azerbaijanis are convinced that either Moscow, Paris, and Washington
    are insincere, or they want the conflict put on hold.
Working...
X