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OSCE Secretary General In The South Caucasus

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  • OSCE Secretary General In The South Caucasus

    OSCE SECRETARY GENERAL IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS

    Vestnik Kavkaza
    July 9 2012
    Russia

    Author: Alexei Vlasov, exclusive to VK

    OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier began a tour of the South
    Caucasus; beginning with Baku, where he held several meetings at which,
    of course, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was discussed. I cannot say
    that this visit by the prominent EU official to Baku was expected
    with high hopes.

    In principle, the rhetoric of the OSCE on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
    is well known, as well as the positions of the sides on the issue of
    the prospects for settlement of this protracted conflict.

    That's why in the public part of communicating with journalists
    Mr. Zannier confined himself to two main theses: firstly, the
    Nagorno-Karabakh conflict poses a greater threat to the region,
    and secondly, negotiations are the only way to resolve the conflict.

    The Azerbaijani side also performed in the usual manner. At the
    very least, there was not any radically new rhetoric from Foreign
    Minister Elmar Mammadyarov during the briefing. The Foreign Minister
    of Azerbaijan, referring to recent incidents that led to the deaths
    of soldiers both on the Azerbaijani side and on the Armenian one,
    said that in his opinion, the problem is the lack of any effective
    monitoring mechanisms on the part of the international observers.

    This question is just secondary to the main point, which is the
    fact of the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh problem. "The problem is not
    in the mechanism bu the presence of the armed forces of Armenia on
    Azerbaijan's territory. If these troops are withdrawn, we will not
    have any problems of snipers, no need for the mechanism, no armed
    incidents," the Minister said.

    This fact alone shows the disappointment of Baku with the prospects
    of mediation in the format of the OSCE, because even minimal progress
    in resolving the so-called frozen conflicts has not occurred since
    the cease-fire in the mid-1990s,.

    Obviously, the Italian diplomat realizes that, despite the persistence
    of relative peace, the internal tensions over the Nagorno-Karabakh
    problem continue to grow. Most likely, this circumstance has prompted
    Lamberto Zanniera to emphasize several times that the status quo can
    not be perceived as a solution to the problem. This assessment is
    certainly true; the officials both from Moscow and from Washington
    and Brussels could put their names to it.

    But what will come next? Where is the key that will help the
    representatives of the intermediaries to turn the phase of the dialogue
    "good that we are talking, not fighting," into the next phase of
    taking real decisions. Alas, we must be realistic and recognize that
    at present there is no miracle recipe, and no matter which diplomatic
    language may describe the outcome of the South Caucasus voyage of
    Mr. Zannier; in fact, it can be reduced to a single proverb about a
    bad peace and a good war.




    From: A. Papazian
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