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POWER ARBITRATION?: NEW APPROACHES TO KARABAKH SETTLEMENT TO COME AMID ESCALATION OF TENSIONS ON ARMENIAN-AZERBAIJANI BORDER
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow
http://armenianow.com/karabakh/38617/armenia_azeri_karabakh_escalation_osce_new_approac hes
08.06.12 | 15:01
Power arbitration?: New approaches to Karabakh settlement to come
amid escalation of tensions on Armenian-Azerbaijani border
The countries co-chairing the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk Group -- the United States, France and Russia
-- have expressed their concern over the escalation of tensions in
the Karabakh conflict zone. On the last leg of her South Caucasus
tour in Baku on June 6, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said
new approaches to settling the protracted conflict will be presented
to the sides at the meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia and
Azerbaijan and the mediating troika in Paris, France on June 17-18.
The essence of the new approaches is not yet known, but the first
"leak" was made by International Crisis Group European Programs
Director Sabina Fraser. She said that now is a good time to find a
path to a peaceful settlement. "And the [Armenian] withdrawal from
one or two districts and the return of internally displaced persons
there could become the beginning of this process," said Fraser.
Two years ago this is what Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
said. He then called on Armenians to give up Aghdam and Fizuli,
and then Turkey would "persuade" Azerbaijan to open up the borders
and would lift the blockade itself. And on Thursday, Davutoglu
reiterated that Turkey will not establish relations with Armenia
until it withdraws from the "occupied territories of Azerbaijan".
The ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) has already indirectly
responded to these remarks.
RPA spokesman and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Edward Sharmazanov said
that Armenia has nowhere to withdraw from. "If there is any occupied
territory, then it is Turkey and Azerbaijan that must withdraw
from them," he said. "Turkey occupied the northern part of Cyprus,
which recently took over the presidency of the European Union and
Azerbaijan occupied Shahumyan, Getashen and Martunashen, which are
parts of Karabakh."
Chairman of the NKR Public Council for Foreign Policy and Security
Masis Mayilyan said that the statement of the U.S. secretary of
state about new approaches to the Karabakh settlement is only
the recognition of the Madrid principles and their elements being
unfeasible proposals. "It is clear that new approaches should be
based on the recognition of new realities and bring the peoples of
the region closer to peaceful coexistence, not war," said Mayilyan.
There is also another "leak" on what other new elements the fresh
approaches might include. "Azerbaijan and Armenia are blocking the
work of the mediators and it is time to pass from mediation on to
power arbitration," Wayne Murray, a scholar at the American Council
on Foreign Relations, said during a discussion at the Woodrow Wilson
Center in Washington DC on June 5. This "power arbitrage" implies the
introduction of certain forces into the conflict zone. And now, one
can suppose, competition will begin among the world's power centers
to implement this "power arbitration".
In Karabakh, though, officials do not understand what proposals on
Karabakh settlement can be there if Azerbaijan shows in every way
that it is not going to fulfill its obligations.
"After Azerbaijan blatantly violated the ceasefire, U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton's statements about new approaches to settling
the Karabakh conflict is entirely irrelevant," said spokesman for
the NKR President David Babayan. He thinks that the U.S. should
pay more attention to the maintenance of the ceasefire, putting
pressure on Azerbaijan in this direction, and in this case it should
speak to Azerbaijan using the language of power. "Both an adequate
harsh response of the Armenian side and a clear reaction from
the international community could be the manifestation of power,"
said Babayan.
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow
http://armenianow.com/karabakh/38617/armenia_azeri_karabakh_escalation_osce_new_approac hes
08.06.12 | 15:01
Power arbitration?: New approaches to Karabakh settlement to come
amid escalation of tensions on Armenian-Azerbaijani border
The countries co-chairing the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk Group -- the United States, France and Russia
-- have expressed their concern over the escalation of tensions in
the Karabakh conflict zone. On the last leg of her South Caucasus
tour in Baku on June 6, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said
new approaches to settling the protracted conflict will be presented
to the sides at the meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia and
Azerbaijan and the mediating troika in Paris, France on June 17-18.
The essence of the new approaches is not yet known, but the first
"leak" was made by International Crisis Group European Programs
Director Sabina Fraser. She said that now is a good time to find a
path to a peaceful settlement. "And the [Armenian] withdrawal from
one or two districts and the return of internally displaced persons
there could become the beginning of this process," said Fraser.
Two years ago this is what Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
said. He then called on Armenians to give up Aghdam and Fizuli,
and then Turkey would "persuade" Azerbaijan to open up the borders
and would lift the blockade itself. And on Thursday, Davutoglu
reiterated that Turkey will not establish relations with Armenia
until it withdraws from the "occupied territories of Azerbaijan".
The ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) has already indirectly
responded to these remarks.
RPA spokesman and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Edward Sharmazanov said
that Armenia has nowhere to withdraw from. "If there is any occupied
territory, then it is Turkey and Azerbaijan that must withdraw
from them," he said. "Turkey occupied the northern part of Cyprus,
which recently took over the presidency of the European Union and
Azerbaijan occupied Shahumyan, Getashen and Martunashen, which are
parts of Karabakh."
Chairman of the NKR Public Council for Foreign Policy and Security
Masis Mayilyan said that the statement of the U.S. secretary of
state about new approaches to the Karabakh settlement is only
the recognition of the Madrid principles and their elements being
unfeasible proposals. "It is clear that new approaches should be
based on the recognition of new realities and bring the peoples of
the region closer to peaceful coexistence, not war," said Mayilyan.
There is also another "leak" on what other new elements the fresh
approaches might include. "Azerbaijan and Armenia are blocking the
work of the mediators and it is time to pass from mediation on to
power arbitration," Wayne Murray, a scholar at the American Council
on Foreign Relations, said during a discussion at the Woodrow Wilson
Center in Washington DC on June 5. This "power arbitrage" implies the
introduction of certain forces into the conflict zone. And now, one
can suppose, competition will begin among the world's power centers
to implement this "power arbitration".
In Karabakh, though, officials do not understand what proposals on
Karabakh settlement can be there if Azerbaijan shows in every way
that it is not going to fulfill its obligations.
"After Azerbaijan blatantly violated the ceasefire, U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton's statements about new approaches to settling
the Karabakh conflict is entirely irrelevant," said spokesman for
the NKR President David Babayan. He thinks that the U.S. should
pay more attention to the maintenance of the ceasefire, putting
pressure on Azerbaijan in this direction, and in this case it should
speak to Azerbaijan using the language of power. "Both an adequate
harsh response of the Armenian side and a clear reaction from
the international community could be the manifestation of power,"
said Babayan.