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news.am, Armenia
March 27 2010
Andrzej Kasprzyk: Nagorno-Karabakh conflict not `frozen'
12:13 / 03/27/2010 The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict cannot be considered
`frozen,' Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, Personal Representative of the
OSCE Chairman-in-Office, stated in his interview with the OSCE
Magazine.
The situation on the front lines has not changed dramatically since
the cease-fire was agreed. There are unfortunately a number of
casualties each year ' approximately 30 (occasionally civilians) ' as
a result of shooting incidents on the Line of Contact and the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border. In 2009, the number of fatalities
decreased to 19, almost certainly as a result of the intensity of the
negotiations.
The Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan met six times in 2009.
Confidentiality is crucial to any such process. A certain element of
trust has to be fostered so as to maintain a dialogue between leaders
of countries that technically remain in a state of war with each
other.
`Before an agreement is reached, it would be difficult to put it up
for public discussion, as this could torpedo the process. For that
reason, the leaders have requested that the process be completely
confidential. The extent of what can be disclosed has to be carefully
measured. Above all, one also has to look at the mandate. The
negotiations are mandated to the Minsk Group Co-Chairs. I am a silent
witness. However, I would like to underline that the Presidents of the
Co-Chair countries, when they gathered in L'Aquila for the G8 Summit
in July 2009, disclosed the fundamental elements of the Basic
Principles that are being negotiated. The so called &`L'Aquila
Statement' outlines the main elements of the talks at the moment,'
Andrzej Kasprzyk said.
With the help and support of the mediators, it is up to the parties to
find a balance between the principles of self-determination and
territorial integrity, Kasprzyk said.
A successful mediator has to be an impartial, balanced and transparent
broker. Anybody with a hidden agenda or one's own interests involved
will sooner or later be rejected by the parties, he said.
T.P.
March 27 2010
Andrzej Kasprzyk: Nagorno-Karabakh conflict not `frozen'
12:13 / 03/27/2010 The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict cannot be considered
`frozen,' Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, Personal Representative of the
OSCE Chairman-in-Office, stated in his interview with the OSCE
Magazine.
The situation on the front lines has not changed dramatically since
the cease-fire was agreed. There are unfortunately a number of
casualties each year ' approximately 30 (occasionally civilians) ' as
a result of shooting incidents on the Line of Contact and the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border. In 2009, the number of fatalities
decreased to 19, almost certainly as a result of the intensity of the
negotiations.
The Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan met six times in 2009.
Confidentiality is crucial to any such process. A certain element of
trust has to be fostered so as to maintain a dialogue between leaders
of countries that technically remain in a state of war with each
other.
`Before an agreement is reached, it would be difficult to put it up
for public discussion, as this could torpedo the process. For that
reason, the leaders have requested that the process be completely
confidential. The extent of what can be disclosed has to be carefully
measured. Above all, one also has to look at the mandate. The
negotiations are mandated to the Minsk Group Co-Chairs. I am a silent
witness. However, I would like to underline that the Presidents of the
Co-Chair countries, when they gathered in L'Aquila for the G8 Summit
in July 2009, disclosed the fundamental elements of the Basic
Principles that are being negotiated. The so called &`L'Aquila
Statement' outlines the main elements of the talks at the moment,'
Andrzej Kasprzyk said.
With the help and support of the mediators, it is up to the parties to
find a balance between the principles of self-determination and
territorial integrity, Kasprzyk said.
A successful mediator has to be an impartial, balanced and transparent
broker. Anybody with a hidden agenda or one's own interests involved
will sooner or later be rejected by the parties, he said.
T.P.