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Agence France Presse
June 23, 2011 Thursday 1:48 AM GMT
Russia hosts Karabakh peace talks amid hope and fear
MOSCOW, June 23 2011
Armenia and Azerbaijan hold peace talks in Russia on Friday, raising
hopes of progress towards ending the long conflict over Nagorny
Karabakh but also fears that failure could lead to a new war.
Ahead of the meeting between Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev in Kazan, the bitter enemies have
been urged to sign a "basic principles" agreement -- a small step on a
long road to a settlement.
"Very rarely have we observed moments when our hopes for a final peace
settlement have been as high as they are now," Marc Perrin de
Brichambaut, general secretary of the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, which has been mediating in negotiations, said.
But 17 years after the ceasefire that ended all-out fighting, tensions
have escalated again with regular firefights along the Karabakh
frontline and repeated threats from Baku to seize the region back by
force if talks don't yield results.
In response, the ethnic Armenian separatists who have controlled
Karabakh since the war and their backers in Yerevan have threatened
large-scale retaliation if Baku takes military action.
The US, Russian and French presidents put pressure on both countries
to "move beyond the unacceptable status quo" and "take a decisive step
towards a peaceful settlement" in a statement issued at the G8 summit
last month.
The statement urged them to sign the "basic principles" document that
envisages an Armenian withdrawal from areas around Karabakh also
seized during the war, the return of refugees, international security
guarantees, and a vote on the final status of the territory at some
point in the future.
Armenian and Azerbaijani officials have been cautiously optimistic
ahead of the talks in Kazan.
Speaking at the Council of Europe on Wednesday, Sarkisian said he was
"full of optimism and strongly hope it will be possible to find a
common denominator," at the upcoming meeting.
But, he added, "it is difficult to say that we will have a positive
result," because there exists in Azerbaijan an "Armenia-phobia" that
has consistently undermined attempts to resolve the dispute.
Analysts have warned however that the prevailing rhetoric on both
sides remains hostile and a major breakthrough appears unlikely.
The conflict in the 1990s killed some 30,000 people and forced around
a million more from their homes.
A new war could prove even bloodier, causing another refugee exodus
and threatening pipelines which pass close to Karabakh, taking Caspian
Sea oil and gas from Azerbaijan to Europe.
Analysts suggest it could also drag in neighbouring powers like
Turkey, which supports Baku over Karabakh, and Russia, which has
troops stationed in Armenia.
Even if the two leaders do sign the basic principles document in Kazan
or at a later date, it will not represent the end of the conflict and
huge obstacles to a final peace deal will remain.
Armenia says that Karabakh will never return to Baku's control, but
Azerbaijan insists that the region must remain part of its sovereign
territory.
"Azerbaijan's position is clear -- territorial integrity cannot be a
subject for discussion," said foreign ministry spokesman Elkhan
Polukhov.
Flush with oil and gas revenues, Azerbaijan has massively increased
spending on weapons and two days after the Kazan talks will hold a
showpiece military parade intended to highlight the strength of its
armed forces.
bur-emc/sjw/bm
From: A. Papazian
June 23, 2011 Thursday 1:48 AM GMT
Russia hosts Karabakh peace talks amid hope and fear
MOSCOW, June 23 2011
Armenia and Azerbaijan hold peace talks in Russia on Friday, raising
hopes of progress towards ending the long conflict over Nagorny
Karabakh but also fears that failure could lead to a new war.
Ahead of the meeting between Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev in Kazan, the bitter enemies have
been urged to sign a "basic principles" agreement -- a small step on a
long road to a settlement.
"Very rarely have we observed moments when our hopes for a final peace
settlement have been as high as they are now," Marc Perrin de
Brichambaut, general secretary of the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, which has been mediating in negotiations, said.
But 17 years after the ceasefire that ended all-out fighting, tensions
have escalated again with regular firefights along the Karabakh
frontline and repeated threats from Baku to seize the region back by
force if talks don't yield results.
In response, the ethnic Armenian separatists who have controlled
Karabakh since the war and their backers in Yerevan have threatened
large-scale retaliation if Baku takes military action.
The US, Russian and French presidents put pressure on both countries
to "move beyond the unacceptable status quo" and "take a decisive step
towards a peaceful settlement" in a statement issued at the G8 summit
last month.
The statement urged them to sign the "basic principles" document that
envisages an Armenian withdrawal from areas around Karabakh also
seized during the war, the return of refugees, international security
guarantees, and a vote on the final status of the territory at some
point in the future.
Armenian and Azerbaijani officials have been cautiously optimistic
ahead of the talks in Kazan.
Speaking at the Council of Europe on Wednesday, Sarkisian said he was
"full of optimism and strongly hope it will be possible to find a
common denominator," at the upcoming meeting.
But, he added, "it is difficult to say that we will have a positive
result," because there exists in Azerbaijan an "Armenia-phobia" that
has consistently undermined attempts to resolve the dispute.
Analysts have warned however that the prevailing rhetoric on both
sides remains hostile and a major breakthrough appears unlikely.
The conflict in the 1990s killed some 30,000 people and forced around
a million more from their homes.
A new war could prove even bloodier, causing another refugee exodus
and threatening pipelines which pass close to Karabakh, taking Caspian
Sea oil and gas from Azerbaijan to Europe.
Analysts suggest it could also drag in neighbouring powers like
Turkey, which supports Baku over Karabakh, and Russia, which has
troops stationed in Armenia.
Even if the two leaders do sign the basic principles document in Kazan
or at a later date, it will not represent the end of the conflict and
huge obstacles to a final peace deal will remain.
Armenia says that Karabakh will never return to Baku's control, but
Azerbaijan insists that the region must remain part of its sovereign
territory.
"Azerbaijan's position is clear -- territorial integrity cannot be a
subject for discussion," said foreign ministry spokesman Elkhan
Polukhov.
Flush with oil and gas revenues, Azerbaijan has massively increased
spending on weapons and two days after the Kazan talks will hold a
showpiece military parade intended to highlight the strength of its
armed forces.
bur-emc/sjw/bm
From: A. Papazian