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HOW KERRY COULD BE KEY TO KARABAKH CONFLICT
http://www.armradio.am/en/2013/04/04/how-kerry-could-be-key-to-karabakh-conflict/
17:02 04.04.2013
"The only way for Washington to wash its hands of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict is to achieve conflict settlement," Alexandros Petersen
writes an article published in the Washington Post.
Late last month, Secretary of State John F. Kerry stated as much when
he wrote to the president of Armenia that "we cannot be satisfied
with the status quo" in the conflict. Mr. Kerry is well-versed in the
intricacies of Nagorno-Karabakh, because as a senator, he represented
a particularly active cohort of Armenian-Americans. Their lobbying in
Congress has led some Azerbaijanis to intimate that the new secretary
of state might be biased toward the other side in the conflict, but
it seems that Mr. Kerry has left his constituency's concerns behind
him to focus on U.S. national interests.
According to the author, it is very much in the American interest to
solve a conflict that could at any moment boil over to destabilize
an already uncertain region.
Petersen reminds that the United States, France and Russia head the
Minsk Group, a negotiating framework sponsored by the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe, to find a solution to the conflict.
"Russia is Armenia's closest ally and has a deep strategic interest in
maintaining its military power in the Caucasus. Russia maintains its
102nd Military Base on Armenian territory, with more than 3,000 combat
troops, hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles, as well as MiG aircraft
and anti-aircraft defenses. A defense treaty with Moscow obligates
Russia to defend Armenia in case of war, including an escalation
in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Moscow has no such relationships
with Azerbaijan. In fact, at the moment, Russian technicians are
leaving Azerbaijan's largest radar facility as part of a deal agreed
to late last year to sever the last vestiges of Soviet-era ties,"
the article reads.
Alexandros Petersen believes that U.S. mediation is more impartial
than Russia's. according to him, Secretary of State John Kerry's
familiarity with the conflict provides an opportunity for the United
States to craft a better strategy for settlement in Karabakh. "In
this case, the deep involvement of a U.S. secretary of state would go
further in getting results than the ongoing disingenuous efforts of
a Russian president. Mr. Kerry has his work cut out for him, but he
may well be the best man for the job," the author concludes.
From: A. Papazian
http://www.armradio.am/en/2013/04/04/how-kerry-could-be-key-to-karabakh-conflict/
17:02 04.04.2013
"The only way for Washington to wash its hands of the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict is to achieve conflict settlement," Alexandros Petersen
writes an article published in the Washington Post.
Late last month, Secretary of State John F. Kerry stated as much when
he wrote to the president of Armenia that "we cannot be satisfied
with the status quo" in the conflict. Mr. Kerry is well-versed in the
intricacies of Nagorno-Karabakh, because as a senator, he represented
a particularly active cohort of Armenian-Americans. Their lobbying in
Congress has led some Azerbaijanis to intimate that the new secretary
of state might be biased toward the other side in the conflict, but
it seems that Mr. Kerry has left his constituency's concerns behind
him to focus on U.S. national interests.
According to the author, it is very much in the American interest to
solve a conflict that could at any moment boil over to destabilize
an already uncertain region.
Petersen reminds that the United States, France and Russia head the
Minsk Group, a negotiating framework sponsored by the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe, to find a solution to the conflict.
"Russia is Armenia's closest ally and has a deep strategic interest in
maintaining its military power in the Caucasus. Russia maintains its
102nd Military Base on Armenian territory, with more than 3,000 combat
troops, hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles, as well as MiG aircraft
and anti-aircraft defenses. A defense treaty with Moscow obligates
Russia to defend Armenia in case of war, including an escalation
in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Moscow has no such relationships
with Azerbaijan. In fact, at the moment, Russian technicians are
leaving Azerbaijan's largest radar facility as part of a deal agreed
to late last year to sever the last vestiges of Soviet-era ties,"
the article reads.
Alexandros Petersen believes that U.S. mediation is more impartial
than Russia's. according to him, Secretary of State John Kerry's
familiarity with the conflict provides an opportunity for the United
States to craft a better strategy for settlement in Karabakh. "In
this case, the deep involvement of a U.S. secretary of state would go
further in getting results than the ongoing disingenuous efforts of
a Russian president. Mr. Kerry has his work cut out for him, but he
may well be the best man for the job," the author concludes.
From: A. Papazian