Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

BAKU: OSCE Astana Summit To Be 'Ineffective' On Karabakh

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

  • BAKU: OSCE Astana Summit To Be 'Ineffective' On Karabakh

    OSCE ASTANA SUMMIT TO BE 'INEFFECTIVE' ON KARABAKH
    Lala B. News.Az

    news.az
    Nov 3 2010
    Azerbaijan

    Azay Guliyev News.Az interviews Azay Guliyev, a member of the
    Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation at the OSCE Parliamentary
    Assembly.

    Will the "road map" for a Karabakh settlement, which the OSCE is
    planning to present to the conflict parties at its summit on 1-2
    December in Astana, help to settle the problem?

    Azerbaijani society still hopes for a peaceful resolution of the
    Karabakh conflict, but as someone constantly involved in OSCE events
    and reasonably informed about sentiment within this organization, I
    believe that the Astana summit will be ineffective, as the organization
    is not yet inclined to force the aggressor to peace. I think the OSCE
    summit in Astana will not take even a small step towards solving the
    conflict. The reason is that the superpowers which must take this
    step are not determined. This is primarily because Armenia is not an
    independent state and is backed by some forces. In this situation,
    the Karabakh conflict can be settled through consensus between these
    powers, on the one hand, and the world community, on the other.

    Does this mean that it will not be possible to take any document to
    Astana that will promote a resolution of the conflict?

    Of course, tough discussions will be held at the OSCE summit and,
    if the OSCE summit and its participants find the courage, then the
    document they adopt will at least have paragraphs from previous
    documents of international organizations on the Karabakh conflict.

    In other words, we expect the OSCE document, like earlier documents
    adopted by international organizations on Karabakh, to include
    paragraphs condemning Armenia for its continued occupation of
    Azerbaijani land. We hope that the document adopted at the OSCE
    summit in Astana will set time frames for the withdrawal of forces
    from the occupied lands. These time frames must allow for the phased
    liberation of Azerbaijani land and gradually promote the return home
    of refugees and IDPs. The document should say that after liberation
    of the occupied lands and return of refugees, the Azerbaijani and
    Armenian communities of Karabakh will have to define the legal status
    of this region. Of course, all these processes must be executed within
    the framework of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

    How may the Astrakhan meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan,
    Armenia and Russia influence the Astana discussions on Karabakh?

    Russia sought to get the psychological advantage before the OSCE
    summit by organizing the meeting in Astrakhan. At the same time,
    it showed that Russia can always put pressure on Armenia and get any
    decision adopted. This state of affairs is at the same time a message
    to other Minsk Group co-chairing states. Therefore, I think the OSCE
    summit in Astana will become a specific point in the transition of the
    superpowers to the next stage of combat and competition in our region.

    This is also proven by the expected visit of French President Nicolas
    Sarkozy to Azerbaijan.

    How effective is Azerbaijan's policy in this regard?

    Certainly, Azerbaijan's diplomacy has recently shown the pointlessness
    of attempts to put pressure on Azerbaijan from outside. Azerbaijan
    shows that it will not make any concessions on the issue of its
    territorial integrity.

    Is this policy useful?

    I believe that when they come up against this Azerbaijani policy
    the superpowers will finally take determined action on a Karabakh
    settlement, though so far there are no signs or symptoms that these
    countries are aware of the need to take such steps. Nevertheless,
    this trend has recently been felt among the superpowers' leaders.

    Is Turkey's active participation in these processes useful?

    I believe there is a great need for Turkey's active participation
    in the Karabakh settlement. Turkish diplomacy should step up a gear
    before the OSCE summit in Astana. Turkey should help in any way it can
    to seize and develop the chance of ensuring the territorial integrity
    of Azerbaijan.

    Diplomatic sources say that the document that the international
    mediators will present at the OSCE summit will mention the need for
    NATO peacekeeping troops around Karabakh. How realistic is this and
    should Azerbaijan agree with it?

    I do not think the location of NATO-led troops in the region is
    realistic, since the Karabakh problem is a conflict whose solution
    requires the formation of a peacekeeping contingent from among
    several troops. These forces are directly or indirectly interested
    in resolution, or on the contrary, protraction of this conflict. The
    Azerbaijani side can take only a temporary placement of international
    peacekeepers on a mixed basis in the conflict area. I think it is
    unrealistic to place peacekeepers, formed from among the NATO-led
    troops or Russian forces. It is desirable to form the peacekeeping
    contingent from NATO-led, Russian and Turkish troops. Though the
    latter is a NATO member, I would like to repeat that it is desirable
    for Turkey to be represented in the peacekeeping forces.

    Kazakhstan's chairmanship of the OSCE is coming to an end. Has
    Kazakhstan been able to do anything to help resolve the Karabakh
    conflict?

    In reality, Kazakhstan's chairmanship of the OSCE was a formality.

    Kazakhstan does not play a serious role in forming international
    policy. Kazakhstan does not have major influence in the world either
    that would make the conflict parties take its will or intention into
    account. The superpowers sometimes agree on the OSCE chairmanship
    of such countries as Kazakhstan, so that the world does not have
    the impression that only the big countries lead this international
    organization.




    From: A. Papazian
Working...
X