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BAKU: 'Karabakh Conflict Settlement Should Be Removed From OSCE Mand

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  • BAKU: 'Karabakh Conflict Settlement Should Be Removed From OSCE Mand

    'KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM OSCE MANDATE'

    news.az
    Nov 23 2011
    Azerbaijan

    News.Az interviews Azerbaijani MP, political expert Mubariz Gurbanli.

    Paris has unofficially announced that Jacques Faure will be appointed
    a new French co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group. Do personalities of
    co-chairs play any role in terms of reaching progress in negotiating
    process on Karabakh conflict?

    The replacement of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs can not play a
    decisive role in resolving the problem since the countries co-chairing
    the Minsk Group play mediation role in negotiations within the OSCE
    mandate, and diplomats working in this group act in compliance with
    the instructions received from their countries and also in compliance
    with the schedule set by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office.

    Of course, the experience of the diplomat, a good knowledge of region's
    problems can have a positive impact the negotiating process.

    But, in general, it is important that OSCE recognized Armenia as an
    aggressor. However, the countries co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group
    have not demonstrated a similar position. In other words, OSCE Minsk
    Group co-chairs- the U.S., France and Russia deal with the Karabakh
    conflict on the basis of their interests.

    Therefore, I believe that replacement of the OSCE Minsk Group
    co-chairs will not have a serious impact on negotiating process on
    the Karabakh conflict settlement. It is possible that appointment
    of new diplomats as co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group can give a certain
    impetus to negotiations and intensify shuttle diplomacy. But overall,
    I do not predict replacement of co-chairs will have an impact on the
    negotiating process.

    To what extent Azerbaijan's election as non-permanent member of the
    UN Security Council reflects the policies pursued by the country in
    past years?

    Certainly, offensive diplomacy pursued by the President of Azerbaijan
    yields fruits. If we look at the anatomy of the foreign policy
    pursued by Azerbaijan, it becomes clear that country's election as
    non-permanent member of UN Security Council is an outcome of this
    offensive diplomacy. The fact that 155 countries voted for Azerbaijan
    is a success of Azerbaijan's diplomacy.

    This became possible due to offensive diplomacy pursued by Azerbaijan
    in relation to Armenia and this is an obvious indicator of a change in
    balance of power in international arena in favor of Baku. Of course,
    Azerbaijan's status of a non-permanent member of UN Security Council
    offers superiority for the country.

    Would it be appropriate for Azerbaijan to raise the issue of
    Nagorno-Karabakh with the UN as a non-permanent member of the UN
    Security Council?

    Azerbaijan, as a nonpermanent member of UN Security Council, can
    not include the issues that are directly related to the Karabakh
    problem to the UN agenda. This can be done by other countries. But
    Azerbaijan's status as a non-permanent member of UN Security Council
    will give Baku an opportunity to use UN platform to expose Armenia
    aggressive policies.

    The parties to the Karabakh conflict have stressed the need to change
    format of OSCE Minsk Group lately. How appropriate it would be to
    change format of the mediators at a current stage?

    The OSCE has become similar to a swamp. Processes related to the
    Karabakh conflict settlement create a swamp syndrome in the OSCE. In
    this regard, there may be attempts to remove the Karabakh process
    from the OSCE mandate.

    As you know, UN Security Council is an authoritative organization
    across the world dealing with peace issues. Only decisions made by
    this structure are binding. Other international organizations issue
    only declarative statements.

    The reality is that all three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group are
    permanent members of UN Security Council. Therefore, one should not
    expect that replacement of a veto-wielding UN Security Council member
    in the OSCE by a secondary state will expedite the peace process. In
    this case, there is only one way out of the situation prevailing
    around the Karabakh conflict settlement. This is taking Karabakh
    issue back to the UN Security Council.

    This organization, in turn, must adopt the next - fifth resolution
    in compliance with the four UN Security Council resolutions adopted
    previously, and the UN Secretary-General, on his part, must appoint
    a special envoy on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

    Direct subordination of UN Secretary-General special envoy on
    the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict to the Security Council of this
    international organization and to its General Assembly would help
    increase diplomatic pressure on the aggressor. Otherwise, a change in
    format of OSCE Minsk Group will not signify the changing situation in
    terms of geopolitical interests. On the contrary, arrival of the new
    influential countries to the OSCE Minsk Group will lead to further
    confrontation of interests of states in the region.

    Let me remind you that the UN Secretary-General undertook mediating
    mission in the Iran-Iraq war. Therefore, given complexity of the
    situation a well-known diplomat can be appointed as a UN Secretary
    General envoy on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. In short, one
    can cause more severe diplomatic blows to Armenia by appointing a
    UN special envoy on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and bringing
    Karabakh issue for discussions in the UN Security Council and UN
    General Assembly.

    Azerbaijan has already reached a diplomatic success in the UN General
    Assembly. As we know, General Assembly has already adopted decisions
    on the Karabakh conflict. During the discussions held in the UN,
    the Armenian side ended up in a deadlock while the Azerbaijani
    diplomacy succeeded. Therefore, I believe that appointment of UN
    Secretary-General special envoy on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict
    can become one of the ways out of the current situation around
    Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement.



    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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