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OSCE CHIEF ENCOUNTERS DIFFICULTIES IN KARABAKH SETTLEMENT EFFORTS - RUSSIAN PAPER
14:17 ~U 18.06.13
The Russian Nezavisimaya Gazeta has commented on the Monday reports
about the cancelled regional tour of Leonid Kozhara, Ukraine's foreign
minister who now serves as the OSCE chairperson-in-office.
Kozhara's personal assistant had earlier said that the diplomat is
scheduling a working visit to the South Caucasus republics (Armenia,
Georgia and Azerbaijan) for conducting talks with the countries'
leaders over reaching a solution to regional conflicts. At meetings
with the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders he was expected to discuss
the peace negotiations over Nagorno-Karabakh.
But the reports on Monday said that the diplomat has cancelled his
tour to both countries after he was aware that the timing of the visit
coincides with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan's annual vacation
period. The Ukrainian media had earlier said that Kozhara may not
visit Armenia and Azerbaijan if no meeting with those countries'
leaders is arranged. The plans for visiting Georgia haven't changed.
But an official statement by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister did not
say anything as to the reasons for cancelling the trip.
Commenting on the report, the Russian publication says that the fact
became the most significant development over the past three months'
of Ukraine's presidency of the Organization. It notes that Kozhara
refused to discuss any details of the Yerevan and Baku talks at a
meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs on Friday.
"The question received a great attention after a source told the
Ukrainian media that the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents failed
to find time for meeting Kozhara ... And the 'smell' of a diplomatic
scandal spread in the air," comments the paper.
Summing up the first quarter of Ukraine's presidency, it says further
that Kiev had initially agreed to shoulder a big responsibility by
saying that it wishes to break the stalemate over the frozen conflict
on the former Soviet republics' territory.
The paper quotes Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovich as saying at
the UN General Assembly's session earlier this year that the country
intends to focus attention on the conflicts over Transnestria and
Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as the Geneva peace talks.
The paper further refers to a recent conversation with Andrey Deshitsa,
Kozhara's special representative on conflict settlement issues,
who said the key achievement over the period is the agreement on
refraining from use of force (signed at the Geneva meetings by Georgia,
Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Russia and US). "If such an agreement is
signed by the end of this year, Ukraine, as an acting chair of the
OSCE and a co-chair at the Geneva discussions, will consider that
its victory. The fact that we have come to realize the importance
of adopting such a document is already a progress," the author of
the article says, expressing belief that the question will be a key
topic in the course of Kozhara's visit to Georgia.
As for the Transnistrian and Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts, experts do
not expect any progress in those processes until the end of Ukraine's
presidency, according to the paper.
Referring to the critical remarks voiced against country in the course
of recent discussions in Kiev (particularly, the Carnegie Foundation
representative's statement that the country fails to properly fulfill
its commitments) upon the initiative of the Ukrainian Institute of
World Politics, the Russian publication says that Kozhara's cancelled
tour added fuel to the fire.
It quotes Kostandin Bondarenko, Head of the Ukrainian Institute of
Politics, as saying that the criticism isn't absolutely fair. "Someone
wishes probably to seek grounds for criticism. Kozhara's visit to
Armenia and Azerbaijan has been rescheduled, not postponed. And it
was the right step as the agenda covered issues requiring a meeting
on a presidential level. I think the meetings will take place before
autumn. But that doesn't mean Ukraine will work miracles to solve
the conflicts. It isn't possible, and none of us demands or expects
anything of the kind," the expert said.
Speaking to the paper on Monday, Deshitsa confirmed the report on the
cancelled trip. "With the greatest attention to the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, we believe the issue has to be discussed on the highest
level. The OSCE too, especially the Minsk Group co-chairs, support
this position," the diplomat said, adding that a new timeline of
visits is now being considered.
Deshitsa told the paper that the South Caucasus and Transnestrian
focus a special attention to settling conflicts in the region. "We
highly appreciate independent experts' proposals, their advice and
considerations, but we first of all pay attention to the sides'
position and the situation in the negotiation process ..." he noted.
Earlier this year, Ukraine spoke of very ambitious projects which
couldn't be brought to life within a year, Igor Semivolos, an expert
at the Transnestrial Research Center, has told the paper.
"Yes, stronger, more influential and resource-rich countries chaired
the OSCE before Ukraine, but none managed to resolve the existing
frozen conflicts on the CIS territory. All understand that Russia,
as a key stakeholder in the post-Soviet region, has not yet finalized
its policies on frozen conflicts. So, our objective now is to observe
the ceasefire regime and ensure the security of people. And that
is what Ukraine is doing now, like the other countries that chaired
the OSCE before. As for the settlement of conflicts, it is necessary
to be open enough to say that there are influential groups are not
absolutely interested in a resolution, given that the frozen conflict
regime is like a goose that lays the golden egg. So that fact holds
back any hopes for reaching an easy conflict settlement," he said
The paper says, citing Yuri Uskalov, an aide to the Russian president,
that the only expectation for progress could now be a joint statement
over Nagorno-Karabakh to be on the sidelines of the G8 summit being
held in Northern Ireland these days. "Kiev expects the document to
promote the conflict settlement efforts before the OSCE Chairman's
visit to Baku and Yerevan," he said.
Armenian News - Tert.am
14:17 ~U 18.06.13
The Russian Nezavisimaya Gazeta has commented on the Monday reports
about the cancelled regional tour of Leonid Kozhara, Ukraine's foreign
minister who now serves as the OSCE chairperson-in-office.
Kozhara's personal assistant had earlier said that the diplomat is
scheduling a working visit to the South Caucasus republics (Armenia,
Georgia and Azerbaijan) for conducting talks with the countries'
leaders over reaching a solution to regional conflicts. At meetings
with the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders he was expected to discuss
the peace negotiations over Nagorno-Karabakh.
But the reports on Monday said that the diplomat has cancelled his
tour to both countries after he was aware that the timing of the visit
coincides with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan's annual vacation
period. The Ukrainian media had earlier said that Kozhara may not
visit Armenia and Azerbaijan if no meeting with those countries'
leaders is arranged. The plans for visiting Georgia haven't changed.
But an official statement by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister did not
say anything as to the reasons for cancelling the trip.
Commenting on the report, the Russian publication says that the fact
became the most significant development over the past three months'
of Ukraine's presidency of the Organization. It notes that Kozhara
refused to discuss any details of the Yerevan and Baku talks at a
meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs on Friday.
"The question received a great attention after a source told the
Ukrainian media that the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents failed
to find time for meeting Kozhara ... And the 'smell' of a diplomatic
scandal spread in the air," comments the paper.
Summing up the first quarter of Ukraine's presidency, it says further
that Kiev had initially agreed to shoulder a big responsibility by
saying that it wishes to break the stalemate over the frozen conflict
on the former Soviet republics' territory.
The paper quotes Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovich as saying at
the UN General Assembly's session earlier this year that the country
intends to focus attention on the conflicts over Transnestria and
Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as the Geneva peace talks.
The paper further refers to a recent conversation with Andrey Deshitsa,
Kozhara's special representative on conflict settlement issues,
who said the key achievement over the period is the agreement on
refraining from use of force (signed at the Geneva meetings by Georgia,
Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Russia and US). "If such an agreement is
signed by the end of this year, Ukraine, as an acting chair of the
OSCE and a co-chair at the Geneva discussions, will consider that
its victory. The fact that we have come to realize the importance
of adopting such a document is already a progress," the author of
the article says, expressing belief that the question will be a key
topic in the course of Kozhara's visit to Georgia.
As for the Transnistrian and Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts, experts do
not expect any progress in those processes until the end of Ukraine's
presidency, according to the paper.
Referring to the critical remarks voiced against country in the course
of recent discussions in Kiev (particularly, the Carnegie Foundation
representative's statement that the country fails to properly fulfill
its commitments) upon the initiative of the Ukrainian Institute of
World Politics, the Russian publication says that Kozhara's cancelled
tour added fuel to the fire.
It quotes Kostandin Bondarenko, Head of the Ukrainian Institute of
Politics, as saying that the criticism isn't absolutely fair. "Someone
wishes probably to seek grounds for criticism. Kozhara's visit to
Armenia and Azerbaijan has been rescheduled, not postponed. And it
was the right step as the agenda covered issues requiring a meeting
on a presidential level. I think the meetings will take place before
autumn. But that doesn't mean Ukraine will work miracles to solve
the conflicts. It isn't possible, and none of us demands or expects
anything of the kind," the expert said.
Speaking to the paper on Monday, Deshitsa confirmed the report on the
cancelled trip. "With the greatest attention to the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, we believe the issue has to be discussed on the highest
level. The OSCE too, especially the Minsk Group co-chairs, support
this position," the diplomat said, adding that a new timeline of
visits is now being considered.
Deshitsa told the paper that the South Caucasus and Transnestrian
focus a special attention to settling conflicts in the region. "We
highly appreciate independent experts' proposals, their advice and
considerations, but we first of all pay attention to the sides'
position and the situation in the negotiation process ..." he noted.
Earlier this year, Ukraine spoke of very ambitious projects which
couldn't be brought to life within a year, Igor Semivolos, an expert
at the Transnestrial Research Center, has told the paper.
"Yes, stronger, more influential and resource-rich countries chaired
the OSCE before Ukraine, but none managed to resolve the existing
frozen conflicts on the CIS territory. All understand that Russia,
as a key stakeholder in the post-Soviet region, has not yet finalized
its policies on frozen conflicts. So, our objective now is to observe
the ceasefire regime and ensure the security of people. And that
is what Ukraine is doing now, like the other countries that chaired
the OSCE before. As for the settlement of conflicts, it is necessary
to be open enough to say that there are influential groups are not
absolutely interested in a resolution, given that the frozen conflict
regime is like a goose that lays the golden egg. So that fact holds
back any hopes for reaching an easy conflict settlement," he said
The paper says, citing Yuri Uskalov, an aide to the Russian president,
that the only expectation for progress could now be a joint statement
over Nagorno-Karabakh to be on the sidelines of the G8 summit being
held in Northern Ireland these days. "Kiev expects the document to
promote the conflict settlement efforts before the OSCE Chairman's
visit to Baku and Yerevan," he said.
Armenian News - Tert.am