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US OFFICIAL HAD NO COMMENT ON ANNULLING PROTOCOLS
asbarez
Thursday, October 20th, 2011
Burns with President Serzh Sarkisian
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns declined
to comment on Yerevan's threats to formally annul the Turkey-Armenia
protocols if Ankara continues to make their parliamentary ratification
contingent on Karabakh peace. He said only that Washington believes
both sides should implement the normalization deal "as quickly as
possible."
"We appreciate Armenia's commitment to normalization of relations
with Turkey," Burns said. "We support the Turkey-Armenia protocols
[signed in 2009] and hope that they will be ratified, creating a
better future for both countries."
"We continue to encourage our partners in Turkey to move in that
direction," he added.
Burns urged a greater "sense of urgency" for the resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on Thursday, saying that continued deadlock
in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks would be fraught with serious
security risks.
"It's obvious to all of us that there is no military solution to this
[Karabakh] conflict," he told journalists. "And it's also obvious,
it seems to me, that the status quo is not sustainable."
"Therefore it's important to approach this challenge with a sense of
urgency," he said.
Burns gave no indications that Washington will now seek a larger role
in the negotiating peace and push harder for an Armenian-Azerbaijani
peace deal. "I would simply re-emphasize the commitment of the United
States to doing everything that we can to help bring about a lasting
peaceful settlement," he said.
Russia, which co-chairs the OSCE Minsk Group with the U.S. and France,
has been the most active player in the Karabakh conflict mediation
in recent years. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has hosted about
a dozen meetings between his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts.
But the latter have so far failed to iron out their differences on the
basic principles of a peaceful settlement put forward by the three
mediating powers. The impasse is fuelling growing fears of another
Armenian-Azerbaijani war.
Karabakh was high on the agenda of what Burns called "excellent and
productive" talks with President Serzh Sarkisian and Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian held on Wednesday. The U.S. official discussed the
unresolved dispute with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev in Baku
on Tuesday.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reportedly pressed the Turkish
leaders to drop the Karabakh linkage when she visited Istanbul in
July. However, the Turkish government remains adamant in linking the
two issues.
Echoing statements by other U.S. diplomats, Burns further stressed
the importance of the proper conduct of Armenia's next parliamentary
and presidential elections due in 2012 and 2013 respectively.
"Since 2012 is an election year, we discussed [with Sarkisian] the
importance of establishing an electoral environment conducive to
free and fair elections," he said. "This means not only what happens
on election day but what happens in the wider democratic process,
including encouraging vibrant and diverse media so that citizens can
make well-informed independent choices."
asbarez
Thursday, October 20th, 2011
Burns with President Serzh Sarkisian
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns declined
to comment on Yerevan's threats to formally annul the Turkey-Armenia
protocols if Ankara continues to make their parliamentary ratification
contingent on Karabakh peace. He said only that Washington believes
both sides should implement the normalization deal "as quickly as
possible."
"We appreciate Armenia's commitment to normalization of relations
with Turkey," Burns said. "We support the Turkey-Armenia protocols
[signed in 2009] and hope that they will be ratified, creating a
better future for both countries."
"We continue to encourage our partners in Turkey to move in that
direction," he added.
Burns urged a greater "sense of urgency" for the resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on Thursday, saying that continued deadlock
in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks would be fraught with serious
security risks.
"It's obvious to all of us that there is no military solution to this
[Karabakh] conflict," he told journalists. "And it's also obvious,
it seems to me, that the status quo is not sustainable."
"Therefore it's important to approach this challenge with a sense of
urgency," he said.
Burns gave no indications that Washington will now seek a larger role
in the negotiating peace and push harder for an Armenian-Azerbaijani
peace deal. "I would simply re-emphasize the commitment of the United
States to doing everything that we can to help bring about a lasting
peaceful settlement," he said.
Russia, which co-chairs the OSCE Minsk Group with the U.S. and France,
has been the most active player in the Karabakh conflict mediation
in recent years. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has hosted about
a dozen meetings between his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts.
But the latter have so far failed to iron out their differences on the
basic principles of a peaceful settlement put forward by the three
mediating powers. The impasse is fuelling growing fears of another
Armenian-Azerbaijani war.
Karabakh was high on the agenda of what Burns called "excellent and
productive" talks with President Serzh Sarkisian and Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian held on Wednesday. The U.S. official discussed the
unresolved dispute with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev in Baku
on Tuesday.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reportedly pressed the Turkish
leaders to drop the Karabakh linkage when she visited Istanbul in
July. However, the Turkish government remains adamant in linking the
two issues.
Echoing statements by other U.S. diplomats, Burns further stressed
the importance of the proper conduct of Armenia's next parliamentary
and presidential elections due in 2012 and 2013 respectively.
"Since 2012 is an election year, we discussed [with Sarkisian] the
importance of establishing an electoral environment conducive to
free and fair elections," he said. "This means not only what happens
on election day but what happens in the wider democratic process,
including encouraging vibrant and diverse media so that citizens can
make well-informed independent choices."