Tweet
ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN BLAME EACH OTHER FOR PROTRACTED WAR
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/world/armenia-and-azerbaijan-blame-each-other-for-protracted-war-641039/
June 19 2012
MOSCOW -- A day after the presidents of the United States, Russia and
France issued a joint statement calling for a peaceful settlement to
the more than 20-year war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the
disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, the two enemies publicly
blamed each other for failing to resolve the conflict.
The mutual finger-pointing on Tuesday underscored the seeming
intractability of the war in the North Caucasus, and immediately raised
doubts that anything would come of the renewed international pressure.
Clashes along the Azerbaijan-Armenia border have intensified in recent
weeks, with soldiers killed on each side. The fighting, in violation
of prior cease-fire agreements, has stirred fears of wider bloodshed
and drawn international condemnation.
The statement issued by the three presidents, Barack Obama, Vladimir
V. Putin and Francois Hollande, at the Group of 20 meeting in Mexico
faulted the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for not following steps
toward an agreement urged last year. The statement called on them to
move swiftly to make "the important decisions necessary to reach a
lasting and peaceful settlement."
The United States, Russia and France jointly lead the Minsk Group,
which was created in 1992 by the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe to help settle the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.
"Military force will not resolve the conflict and would only prolong
the suffering and hardships endured by the peoples of the region
for too long," the presidents said. "Only a peaceful, negotiated
settlement can allow the entire region to move beyond the status quo
toward a secure and prosperous future."
Armenia's foreign minister, Edward Nalbandian, said on Tuesday that
his country was prepared to negotiate a settlement along terms outlined
by the Minsk Group, and he accused Azerbaijan of refusing to do so.
"Unlike Armenia, Azerbaijan has rejected and continues to reject
the co-chair countries' proposals to consolidate the cease-fire,
to withdraw snipers from the line of contact, to create a mechanism
on investigating cease-fire violations and incidents," Mr. Nalbandian
said. "Armenia, unlike Azerbaijan, has on numerous occasions reiterated
that it is ready to continue the negotiations."
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry, Elman T.
Abdullayev, accused Armenia of blocking any possibility of a peace
agreement by refusing to withdraw its troops from Nagorno-Karabakh.
"The Armenian armed forces must leave the occupied Azerbaijani lands,
and this will put an end to the incidents on the contact line," Mr.
Abdullayev told Azerbaijan news services.
In Mexico, the unity on addressing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
provided a glimmer of consensus between Mr. Obama and Mr. Putin,
whose face-to-face meeting on Monday was largely characterized by
their disagreement over how to handle the conflict in Syria.
A solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, however, has eluded
negotiators for more than two decades. The statement in Mexico
followed an earlier meeting on Monday in Paris among ambassadors
from the United States, Russia and France and the foreign ministers
of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The meeting seemed to yield little progress.
In a statement, the three ambassadors said they had discussed the
recent fighting on the front lines as well as the creation of a
mechanism to monitor cease-fire violations and ways to preserve sites
of historic and cultural value. Officials from the Minsk Group said
they planned to travel to the region to follow up.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/world/armenia-and-azerbaijan-blame-each-other-for-protracted-war-641039/
June 19 2012
MOSCOW -- A day after the presidents of the United States, Russia and
France issued a joint statement calling for a peaceful settlement to
the more than 20-year war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the
disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, the two enemies publicly
blamed each other for failing to resolve the conflict.
The mutual finger-pointing on Tuesday underscored the seeming
intractability of the war in the North Caucasus, and immediately raised
doubts that anything would come of the renewed international pressure.
Clashes along the Azerbaijan-Armenia border have intensified in recent
weeks, with soldiers killed on each side. The fighting, in violation
of prior cease-fire agreements, has stirred fears of wider bloodshed
and drawn international condemnation.
The statement issued by the three presidents, Barack Obama, Vladimir
V. Putin and Francois Hollande, at the Group of 20 meeting in Mexico
faulted the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for not following steps
toward an agreement urged last year. The statement called on them to
move swiftly to make "the important decisions necessary to reach a
lasting and peaceful settlement."
The United States, Russia and France jointly lead the Minsk Group,
which was created in 1992 by the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe to help settle the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.
"Military force will not resolve the conflict and would only prolong
the suffering and hardships endured by the peoples of the region
for too long," the presidents said. "Only a peaceful, negotiated
settlement can allow the entire region to move beyond the status quo
toward a secure and prosperous future."
Armenia's foreign minister, Edward Nalbandian, said on Tuesday that
his country was prepared to negotiate a settlement along terms outlined
by the Minsk Group, and he accused Azerbaijan of refusing to do so.
"Unlike Armenia, Azerbaijan has rejected and continues to reject
the co-chair countries' proposals to consolidate the cease-fire,
to withdraw snipers from the line of contact, to create a mechanism
on investigating cease-fire violations and incidents," Mr. Nalbandian
said. "Armenia, unlike Azerbaijan, has on numerous occasions reiterated
that it is ready to continue the negotiations."
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry, Elman T.
Abdullayev, accused Armenia of blocking any possibility of a peace
agreement by refusing to withdraw its troops from Nagorno-Karabakh.
"The Armenian armed forces must leave the occupied Azerbaijani lands,
and this will put an end to the incidents on the contact line," Mr.
Abdullayev told Azerbaijan news services.
In Mexico, the unity on addressing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
provided a glimmer of consensus between Mr. Obama and Mr. Putin,
whose face-to-face meeting on Monday was largely characterized by
their disagreement over how to handle the conflict in Syria.
A solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, however, has eluded
negotiators for more than two decades. The statement in Mexico
followed an earlier meeting on Monday in Paris among ambassadors
from the United States, Russia and France and the foreign ministers
of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The meeting seemed to yield little progress.
In a statement, the three ambassadors said they had discussed the
recent fighting on the front lines as well as the creation of a
mechanism to monitor cease-fire violations and ways to preserve sites
of historic and cultural value. Officials from the Minsk Group said
they planned to travel to the region to follow up.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.