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BAKU: Matthew Bryza: All The Basic Principles, In Fact All Of Them,

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  • BAKU: Matthew Bryza: All The Basic Principles, In Fact All Of Them,

    MATTHEW BRYZA: ALL THE BASIC PRINCIPLES, IN FACT ALL OF THEM, ARE AGREED IN A FUNDAMENTAL WAY - INTERVIEW

    APA
    Aug 5 2009
    Azerbaijan

    Washington. Zaur Hasanov - APA. American co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group
    Matthew Bryza's interview to APA's US Bureau

    - How fundamental are changes to the Madrid Principles which you,
    co-Chairs of Minsk Group have made in Krakow, Poland? Are there
    any new elements in the future status of NK, force withdrawal from
    occupied areas, international peacekeeping mission, etc?

    - We didn't make any fundamental changes. What we did was to listen
    very carefully in the course of all the time that has passed since
    November 2007, when we presented the Madrid Document. We assessed what
    each president has been saying, what their needs are in negotiations
    ,and we came up with our best suggestions for how to bridge the
    differences that remain between the Presidents as a result of all
    those negotiations, which have actually brought them quite close. So
    these are not fundamental changes, they are not just cosmetic changes
    either. They're an attempt again to resolve the differences that remain
    after now 13 months of intensive negotiations between Presidents
    Aliyev and Sarkisyan. I won't go into the specific issues in which
    we made our updates, but what you just mentioned, those are the key
    elements of the framework that outlined by the Basic Principles. So,
    obviously, anything we do, any update could touch any of these core
    elements of the Basic Principles but I'd rather not go into the
    specifics of which ones.

    - Why do you think, after G8 summit in Italy, the White House's Press
    Office released information with the basic points of NK settlement,
    which was done for a first time by any Co-Chair country?

    - I don't think that there is any sense speculating why they did
    it. The point is that Presidents of the United States, France and
    Russia have publicly announced that they themselves support the Basic
    Principles that the Minsk Group Co-Chairs have been able to help the
    Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia negotiate. That's the point;
    that our Presidents personally are engaged and support the efforts
    of the Minsk Group and asked us, the Co-Chairs to do just what we
    did in Krakow, right, which is to update the proposal that we have
    submitted in Madrid, based very respectfully on the conclusions and
    views of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

    - Throughout your professional career you have been dealing with
    Nagorno-Karabakh issue, do you remember such high level involvement
    from the top leadership of Co-Chair countries in an attempt to solve
    the conflict?

    - I don't remember that. I am very proud we have been able to secure
    that high level of involvement. I do think it's going to have a big
    impact in helping us move things forward. I think the Presidents are
    showing that level of engagement because they see that we are doing
    our work and we are doing it well. I mean we, all the parties of
    the Minsk Group, are making significant progress. As Azerbaijani TV
    announced today, the Basic Principles provide a fair outline for a
    settlement. So, there's been a lot of movement and we have entered
    a new phase in the Minsk Group process which means getting close
    to finalizing the Basic Principles. That, what I just said, is the
    significance of the Presidents' statement: they're personally involved,
    they see we're getting close to finalizing the Basic Principles and
    they want to encourage the parties to carry out the rest of the work
    and get to that end point..

    - At this moment, is there any sense to add the Azeri and Armenian
    communities of NK to the formal negotiations?

    - There can't be a settlement that will be lasting unless all of the
    views of all of the concerned parties are taken into account. So,
    obviously, the views of Karabakhi Armenians and Azerbaijanis need to
    be reflected in whatever is finally agreed, or the agreement won't
    succeed. So that has to happen. Now it happens now in an informal way,
    already, when the co-chairs spend so much time consulting Karabkahi
    Armenians in Karabakh. I look forward to renewing my consultations
    with the Karabakhi Azerbaijani community when I am next in Baku. And
    the question of formal participation at the negotiating table is
    one that has to be agreed between by both Baku and Yerevan. People
    should remember than until 1998, the Karabakhi Armenians were at the
    negotiating table but the former Government of Armenia decided that
    it would negotiate on behalf of the Karabakhi Armenians. So that was
    the decision Armenia took, and to change that decision there must
    be mutual agreement by both Baku and Yerevan. So I hope that will
    happen in a relatively short time. I can't predict when, but for now,
    what we have to do is wrap up the Basic Principles but to make sure
    that we do so in a way that reflects the views of Karabakh's current
    and former residents.

    - In Armenia, the criticism of the government is mounting. The
    opposition is accusing the government on "unilateral concessions"
    to Azerbaijan. Did you witness something like that in the sequence
    of Presidents' meetings?

    - The quality of the discussion ensued in Moscow was better than any
    I have experienced to date. The Presidents were detailed and candid
    with each other, and I'd even say constructive. They are really
    looking for ways to bridge their differences, but that doesn't mean
    that they're being soft. The criticism, particularly in Armenia, that
    President Sarkisian or Foreign Minister Nalbandian are somehow making
    unilateral concessions, is ridiculous. I think that probably president
    Aliyev would love it if there were such unilateral concessions. But
    that's not how real negotiations works in real life. These are real
    negotiations that again have entered a new phase in terms of their
    intensity and level of give and take. But if you are going to give
    in negotiations you expect to take something in return. So this is
    give and take - there are no unilateral concessions.

    - Could you give us a percentage estimate on how many points of the
    Basic Principles are parties agreed and what is left?

    - I can't convey that sort of assessment, and that's not where we
    are anyway. What I can say is, number one, nothing is agreed until
    everything is agreed. So I can't say what percentage has been agreed,
    because the way it works is like this: I want A ;and to get A, you
    want B from me. If I give you B, well you're going to want C. If I
    give you C, well then I want something else out of A. So you know,
    you negotiate a way forward. But then you have to go back sometimes
    to reconsider which was already partially agreed before. So, all
    the issues are interacting, they're all interrelated... Therefore,
    sometimes you have to move centimeter by centimeter, and that's what
    we have tried to do through our work in Krakow. [approximate]

    So, to put it a different way, the Basic Principles, which provide
    the framework for a peace agreement, as reflected in the fact sheet
    issued with the joint statement by our Presidents, our co-chair
    presidents, I think, is more or less accepted by both President Aliyev
    and Sargsian. This is an outline that they more or less accept.. But
    to say that we absolutely agree, we will need to keep on going back
    and filling in the details of one issue, and then going back to fill
    in the details of another issue. But all the Basic Principles, just
    about all of them, in fact all of them, are agreed in a fundamental
    way. But the details require still some work.

    - On Turkey-Armenian rapprochement, you have said many times that
    those two separate process and they have to move parallel. But as it
    seems it doesn't work in this way.

    - It is not for me to answer why, Turkey is not moving forward or why
    Armenia is not. There was a "Road Map" with a timetable and a general
    sense of when steps need to take place. All I can say is that it's
    the policy of the U.S. Government to say we hope that that timetable
    will resume and the parties will begin moving forward again on the
    basis of that timetable even though some of the specific dates have
    already passed.

    And we think that this sort of development will end up being very good
    for everybody in the region: for Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia and for
    Georgia as well. But it wouldn't be useful for me to speculate why
    Turkey and Armenia haven't moved further ahead because the U.S. is
    not a party to this agreement.

    But I have talked about how these are separate processes. They are. And
    As one moves forward, we believe that the other process will then
    exist in a climate where the mood is better, where tension is lower;
    and that process can then also move forward.

    - Another speculation is your expected nomination as an Ambassador
    to Azerbaijan. Many in Azerbaijan will be glad to see you in this
    position.

    - Well first of all, thank you so much for that very nice statement
    saying that people in Azerbaijan would like what you said. That really
    makes me feel good. I don't know what exactly is going to be next for
    me. That really depends on our Secretary of State and the President. I
    will have a new assignment soon. And, as I've said before, I very much
    hope it will keep me connected to the South Caucasus. But I can't
    really comment on what is going to be. It's not my decision. I just
    have to be patient. And I am not done yet with the Minsk Group. I plan
    to come to the region on behalf of all three Co-Chairs, by myself,
    in about a week and a half or so and try to pick up on our success
    in Krakow in coming up with the updated ideas of the Madrid Document,
    which we hope will lay the foundation for an agreement soon.
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