JOHN R. BEYRLE: "ONLY A NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT IS THE WAY TO RESOLVE THIS CONFLICT"
arminfo
Monday, November 19, 11:31
Both the US and Russia having good channels of communication into Baku
and Yerevan can help lower the tensions and get both sides to agree
that only a negotiated settlement is the way to resolve this conflict,
John R. Beyrle, the former US Ambassador to Russian from 2008 to 2012
said in an interview with TURAN's Washington correspondent.
"When I was ambassador in Moscow between 2008 and 2012, I met very
frequently with my Russian counterpart Georgi Karasin, who was the
deputy foreign minister. We talked a lot about Nagorno- Karabakh,
and in almost all cases our strategic goals there were identical: We
wanted end to the violence and we wanted to negotiate the settlement,
so that people of Azerbaijan and people of Armenia have clarity on
that disputed region and can get on with their lives. We were very
concerned about the outbreaks of some hostilities, there was firing
on the border, there were deaths." he said.
Speaking of perspectives of the "online" movements in the Caucasus,
Beyrle said that on the reset policy, or on Russia's relations
with the outside world in general, it makes it much easier for the
average Russian to have access to a broad range of information and
to understand that what he wants for his family is not much different
from what for example Azeris want for their families, or what Americans
want for their families, or Chinese want for their families.
"It is a window to the world that didn't exist ten years ago, and
I think that by its very nature it makes it easier for people to
understand that there is a lot more that unites peoples and countries
than there is what divides them:But through the internet, through smart
phones people have access to incredible channels of information that
help them broaden their understanding and it probably helps breakdown
some of the mythologies and stereotypes that are unfortunately
still with us from the Cold War," he said. The Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict broke out on February 28 1988 in the Azerbaijani Sumgait
with massacre of Armenians as a peculiar response of Azerbaijanis
to the peaceful demand of the Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous Region,
part of the Azerbaijani SSR, to unite with the Armenian SSR. This
resulted in other pogroms of Armenians in Baku, Kirovabad and other
regions of Azerbaijan populated with Armenians. In 1991 Azerbaijan
unleashed war against peaceful populations of Nagorno-Karabakh,
expulsing ethnic Armenians from the territory of Azerbaijan. Dozens
of thousands of peaceful residents on both parties were killed in the
military actions, and hundreds of thousands were left homeless and
have become refugees. In 1994 in Bishkek in mediation of the OSCE MG,
the NKR, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a Protocol on Ceasefire that
is observed more or less so far. Since 1992 the OSCE Minsk Group
represented by co- chairs from Russia, U.S. and France has been
mediating in resolution of the conflict unleashed by Azerbaijan in
1988. At present the peace process is based on the Madrid Principles
suggested by the OSCE MG in 2007 in Madrid and renovated in 2009.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
arminfo
Monday, November 19, 11:31
Both the US and Russia having good channels of communication into Baku
and Yerevan can help lower the tensions and get both sides to agree
that only a negotiated settlement is the way to resolve this conflict,
John R. Beyrle, the former US Ambassador to Russian from 2008 to 2012
said in an interview with TURAN's Washington correspondent.
"When I was ambassador in Moscow between 2008 and 2012, I met very
frequently with my Russian counterpart Georgi Karasin, who was the
deputy foreign minister. We talked a lot about Nagorno- Karabakh,
and in almost all cases our strategic goals there were identical: We
wanted end to the violence and we wanted to negotiate the settlement,
so that people of Azerbaijan and people of Armenia have clarity on
that disputed region and can get on with their lives. We were very
concerned about the outbreaks of some hostilities, there was firing
on the border, there were deaths." he said.
Speaking of perspectives of the "online" movements in the Caucasus,
Beyrle said that on the reset policy, or on Russia's relations
with the outside world in general, it makes it much easier for the
average Russian to have access to a broad range of information and
to understand that what he wants for his family is not much different
from what for example Azeris want for their families, or what Americans
want for their families, or Chinese want for their families.
"It is a window to the world that didn't exist ten years ago, and
I think that by its very nature it makes it easier for people to
understand that there is a lot more that unites peoples and countries
than there is what divides them:But through the internet, through smart
phones people have access to incredible channels of information that
help them broaden their understanding and it probably helps breakdown
some of the mythologies and stereotypes that are unfortunately
still with us from the Cold War," he said. The Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict broke out on February 28 1988 in the Azerbaijani Sumgait
with massacre of Armenians as a peculiar response of Azerbaijanis
to the peaceful demand of the Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous Region,
part of the Azerbaijani SSR, to unite with the Armenian SSR. This
resulted in other pogroms of Armenians in Baku, Kirovabad and other
regions of Azerbaijan populated with Armenians. In 1991 Azerbaijan
unleashed war against peaceful populations of Nagorno-Karabakh,
expulsing ethnic Armenians from the territory of Azerbaijan. Dozens
of thousands of peaceful residents on both parties were killed in the
military actions, and hundreds of thousands were left homeless and
have become refugees. In 1994 in Bishkek in mediation of the OSCE MG,
the NKR, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a Protocol on Ceasefire that
is observed more or less so far. Since 1992 the OSCE Minsk Group
represented by co- chairs from Russia, U.S. and France has been
mediating in resolution of the conflict unleashed by Azerbaijan in
1988. At present the peace process is based on the Madrid Principles
suggested by the OSCE MG in 2007 in Madrid and renovated in 2009.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress