Tweet
KARABAKH CONFLICT: SARGSYAN-ALIYEV MEETING IN PARIS TO REAFFIRM CURRENT FORMAT OF TALKS
News | 24.10.14 | 12:11
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow correspondent
Politicians and experts in Armenia and Azerbaijan do not talk much
about specific expectations from the meeting of the leaders of
their countries planned to be held in Paris, France, on October 27,
but there is a general opinion that this fresh round of talks on the
protracted Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement is a French attempt
to keep the communication channel open between the conflicting parties.
But the main subject of the upcoming meeting, perhaps, will be
the format of future negotiations. Armenia is on track to join
the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union, which will significantly
raise the role of Moscow in the region. So far, the status quo in the
Karabakh conflict zone has been maintained thanks to the format of the
OSCE Minsk Group. This triangle has allowed the co-chair countries -
Russia, the United States and France - to restrain each other from
unilateral steps.
But the strengthening of Russia in the region and the inclusion of
Armenia into a pro-Russian bloc may enable Russia to monopolize the
Karabakh settlement process, and it does not at all meet the interests
of the United States and France. U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry organized a meeting between President
Serzh Sargsyan, of Armenia, and President Ilham Aliyev, of Azerbaijan,
in September on the margins of the NATO summit in Wales, UK, and then
he stated that the format of the Minsk Group should not be changed.
Apparently, the Paris meeting is supposed to reaffirm the same.
Remarkably, a few days before the Armenian-Azeri summit talks in Paris,
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier unexpectedly visited
Baku and Yerevan. In the Azerbaijani capital he stated that he hoped
for a more active participation of Germany and the European Union
in the South Caucasus region. Armenian experts interpreted this as a
bid by Germany to take a more active role in resolving the Karabakh
conflict and, at the same time, as a sign of the growing relevance
of the Karabakh conflict in a changing geopolitical environment.
What can be the countermeasures of the United States and Europe if
Russia attempts to monopolize the settlement process? It is believed
that this may be the beginning of a procedure of international
recognition of Karabakh. After yesterday's meeting of the executive
body of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, the party's spokesman,
Deputy Parliament Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov said: "During the meeting
we specified our position before the Sargsyan-Aliyev meeting: there
is no alternative to international recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic (NKR)."
This does not appear to be a random statement - during the past year
as many as five American states have recognize the independence of
Karabakh, and most recently France's Bourg de Valence and Karabakh's
Shushi became sister towns. This provoked a strong reaction of official
Baku, but it was parried by Washington and Paris.
The NKR has a more than 100-kilometer-long border with Iran, which
in late November is going to sign an agreement with the West. This
will lead to the strengthening of Iran's role in the region and its
rapprochement with the West. In this context Karabakh may become either
a major obstacle to opening up the region, whose closure is beneficial
primarily for Russia and Azerbaijan, or a door to new opportunities.
http://armenianow.com/news/57920/armenia_azerbaijan_karabakh_talks_paris_meeting_sa rgsyan_aliyev
News | 24.10.14 | 12:11
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow correspondent
Politicians and experts in Armenia and Azerbaijan do not talk much
about specific expectations from the meeting of the leaders of
their countries planned to be held in Paris, France, on October 27,
but there is a general opinion that this fresh round of talks on the
protracted Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement is a French attempt
to keep the communication channel open between the conflicting parties.
But the main subject of the upcoming meeting, perhaps, will be
the format of future negotiations. Armenia is on track to join
the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union, which will significantly
raise the role of Moscow in the region. So far, the status quo in the
Karabakh conflict zone has been maintained thanks to the format of the
OSCE Minsk Group. This triangle has allowed the co-chair countries -
Russia, the United States and France - to restrain each other from
unilateral steps.
But the strengthening of Russia in the region and the inclusion of
Armenia into a pro-Russian bloc may enable Russia to monopolize the
Karabakh settlement process, and it does not at all meet the interests
of the United States and France. U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry organized a meeting between President
Serzh Sargsyan, of Armenia, and President Ilham Aliyev, of Azerbaijan,
in September on the margins of the NATO summit in Wales, UK, and then
he stated that the format of the Minsk Group should not be changed.
Apparently, the Paris meeting is supposed to reaffirm the same.
Remarkably, a few days before the Armenian-Azeri summit talks in Paris,
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier unexpectedly visited
Baku and Yerevan. In the Azerbaijani capital he stated that he hoped
for a more active participation of Germany and the European Union
in the South Caucasus region. Armenian experts interpreted this as a
bid by Germany to take a more active role in resolving the Karabakh
conflict and, at the same time, as a sign of the growing relevance
of the Karabakh conflict in a changing geopolitical environment.
What can be the countermeasures of the United States and Europe if
Russia attempts to monopolize the settlement process? It is believed
that this may be the beginning of a procedure of international
recognition of Karabakh. After yesterday's meeting of the executive
body of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, the party's spokesman,
Deputy Parliament Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov said: "During the meeting
we specified our position before the Sargsyan-Aliyev meeting: there
is no alternative to international recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic (NKR)."
This does not appear to be a random statement - during the past year
as many as five American states have recognize the independence of
Karabakh, and most recently France's Bourg de Valence and Karabakh's
Shushi became sister towns. This provoked a strong reaction of official
Baku, but it was parried by Washington and Paris.
The NKR has a more than 100-kilometer-long border with Iran, which
in late November is going to sign an agreement with the West. This
will lead to the strengthening of Iran's role in the region and its
rapprochement with the West. In this context Karabakh may become either
a major obstacle to opening up the region, whose closure is beneficial
primarily for Russia and Azerbaijan, or a door to new opportunities.
http://armenianow.com/news/57920/armenia_azerbaijan_karabakh_talks_paris_meeting_sa rgsyan_aliyev