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Voice of Russia
Oct 30 2010
Solution on Nagorno-Karabakh close
Olga Denisova Oct 30, 2010 19:14 Moscow Time
In the past week the presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia held
their third meeting this year on the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh
ahead of the next round of talks on December 1st and 2nd.
This time the three leaders gathered in Astrakhan on the Volga, and
the next round is scheduled to take place in Astana. President
Medvedev was seeing his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts Ilkham
Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan on the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh for the
seventh time since their first meeting in 2008.
The latest talks resulted in a joint Declaration on
confidence-building measures in order to secure the exchange of POWs
and return the bodies of those killed in the conflict. Even though
Armenia and Azerbaijan are no longer in open confrontation over
Nagorno-Karabakh, as they were more than 20 years ago, a number of
differences are still in place, calling for solution.
The Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh announced a
decision to break away from Azerbaijan in 1988. The two countries were
at war with one another for 3 years until a ceasefire agreement came
into force in 1994. Azerbaijan is still refusing to acknowledge
Karabakh's autonomy and considers the seven districts of its territory
occupied.
Russia is currently acting as a mediator in keeping the dialogue
between the two conflicting parties at an appropriate level. The
director of the center for public and political processes on
post-Soviet space Alexei Vlasov sees Russia's mediatory mission as
successful.
Both Armenia and Azerbaijan lay big hopes on Russia's mediation in the
conflict, he says. Moscow is not after any gains, like some partners
in the West. It's playing fair and its actions are transparent.
In the opinion of Alexei Vlasov, the forthcoming summit in Astana will
focus on enhancing the earlier reached agreements, rather than signing
any breakthrough deals.
After making good progress in the humanitarian area, he says, the
parties involved should move on to the territorial issue and the issue
of non-use of force. These are central in Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have agreed to draft a single set of conflict
settlement principles for the Astana talks. According to former
co-Chairman of the OSCE's Minsk Group for Nagorno-Karabakh from Russia
Vladimir Kazimirov, non-use of force should top the agenda of the
summit.
The parties concerned should exert every effort to ensure non-use of
force to preclude a resumption of military operations, the expert
says. Otherwise, talks can be disrupted any time over incidents on the
border.
In Astana the co-Chairmen of the Minsk Group - Dmitry Medvedev, Barack
Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy - are expected to `throw a bridge' into 2011
by replacing statements and declarations with specific solutions. A
similar `bridge' has already been built with the assistance of Russia.
From: A. Papazian
Oct 30 2010
Solution on Nagorno-Karabakh close
Olga Denisova Oct 30, 2010 19:14 Moscow Time
In the past week the presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia held
their third meeting this year on the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh
ahead of the next round of talks on December 1st and 2nd.
This time the three leaders gathered in Astrakhan on the Volga, and
the next round is scheduled to take place in Astana. President
Medvedev was seeing his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts Ilkham
Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan on the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh for the
seventh time since their first meeting in 2008.
The latest talks resulted in a joint Declaration on
confidence-building measures in order to secure the exchange of POWs
and return the bodies of those killed in the conflict. Even though
Armenia and Azerbaijan are no longer in open confrontation over
Nagorno-Karabakh, as they were more than 20 years ago, a number of
differences are still in place, calling for solution.
The Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh announced a
decision to break away from Azerbaijan in 1988. The two countries were
at war with one another for 3 years until a ceasefire agreement came
into force in 1994. Azerbaijan is still refusing to acknowledge
Karabakh's autonomy and considers the seven districts of its territory
occupied.
Russia is currently acting as a mediator in keeping the dialogue
between the two conflicting parties at an appropriate level. The
director of the center for public and political processes on
post-Soviet space Alexei Vlasov sees Russia's mediatory mission as
successful.
Both Armenia and Azerbaijan lay big hopes on Russia's mediation in the
conflict, he says. Moscow is not after any gains, like some partners
in the West. It's playing fair and its actions are transparent.
In the opinion of Alexei Vlasov, the forthcoming summit in Astana will
focus on enhancing the earlier reached agreements, rather than signing
any breakthrough deals.
After making good progress in the humanitarian area, he says, the
parties involved should move on to the territorial issue and the issue
of non-use of force. These are central in Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have agreed to draft a single set of conflict
settlement principles for the Astana talks. According to former
co-Chairman of the OSCE's Minsk Group for Nagorno-Karabakh from Russia
Vladimir Kazimirov, non-use of force should top the agenda of the
summit.
The parties concerned should exert every effort to ensure non-use of
force to preclude a resumption of military operations, the expert
says. Otherwise, talks can be disrupted any time over incidents on the
border.
In Astana the co-Chairmen of the Minsk Group - Dmitry Medvedev, Barack
Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy - are expected to `throw a bridge' into 2011
by replacing statements and declarations with specific solutions. A
similar `bridge' has already been built with the assistance of Russia.
From: A. Papazian