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WILL AZERBAIJAN CONTINUE PUTTING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE?
http://artsakhtert.com/eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1564:-will-azerbaijan-continue-putting-the-cart-before-the-horse&catid=3:all&Itemid=4
Friday, 26 September 2014 16:34
Recently, certain intensification of efforts by the mediators in the
Karabakh conflict settlement process has been fixed. Sometimes, it
even seems that the co-chair states of the OSCE Minsk Group have
started a kind of race between each other to intercept the mediation
initiative, trying to bring the parties to the table of direct
negotiations. I must say, the start to the race was given by Russian
President Vladimir Putin who organized the August meeting in Sochi
between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan; according to most
analysts, the meeting was very useful and allowed to remove the
dangerous escalation created by the Baku regime in the conflict zone,
preventing the latter's growing into a "hot phase".
Then, in early September, on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in
Wales, a meeting of the U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, with the
Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan took place. Last Tuesday, in the
framework of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly in New York,
consultations of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs with the foreign
ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan took place, during which the
preparations for the organization of the meeting of the two states'
Presidents in Paris were discussed; the initiator of the meeting is
the President of France. It should be noted that Francois Hollande
made a similar proposal still before the Sochi meeting, however
Vladimir Putin appeared to be more persistent and managed to seat
Sargsyan and Aliyev at the negotiation table, which, however, did not
make the President of the Fifth Republic abandon his idea.
So, the Paris meeting is not spoken of as something of a final
decision. Most likely, it is so, as the French party stated that the
Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan had agreed to hold the
negotiations in Paris. The approximate date of the Summit is already
stated - the second half of October. Considering this fact, the OSCE
Minsk Group co-chairs have stated their intention to visit the region
in October.
As we can see, the mediators cannot be condemned of the lack of
initiative and desire to intensify the negotiation process and to
enhance its efficiency. In their view, the upcoming meeting in Paris
should become an important addition to the work started in Sochi and
continued in Wales. In particular, the Russian Co-Chairman of the OSCE
Minsk Group, Igor Popov, noted in a media interview that the meeting
in Paris could take place in the context of the joint efforts of the
co-chair states aimed at transferring the principles agreed by the
"troika" at the highest level to a practical platform and achieving a
stable solution. However, he wisely added that he wouldn't do any
forecast. And he will be right.
Appreciating the efforts of the mediators, we should, however, note
that the success of the negotiation process largely, if not entirely,
depends on the parties to the conflict and their positions and
approaches to the settlement process. It depends also, and not the
least, on the attitude to the mediators and their proposed format of
negotiations. The matter is not now that through the fault of
Azerbaijan the Minsk Group format is distorted, because
Nagorno-Karabakh is outside of it, which makes a priori problematic
the implementation of the hypothetical peace agreement, which is
currently stated by the co-chairs. And the matter is that official
Baku has long been making attempts to transfer the settlement process
to other formats, which clearly shows its non-confidence towards the
Minsk Group. That is despite the fact that the international mediators
have repeatedly stated at different levels that there are no
alternatives to the Minsk Group. Igor Popov himself stressed in the
noted interview that "any attempts to modify the format or create
parallel mechanisms may lead to the erosion of the negotiation process
and setbacks in the positions of the parties".
On the other hand, Azerbaijan's similar running from one format to
another testifies that the supposed outcome of the negotiations, which
will be reflected in the so-called Big Peace Agreement, does not
satisfy it at all. This is indirectly confirmed by the fact that the
Azerbaijani party constantly poses unacceptable conditions, which has
a very negative impact on the settlement process.
So, Foreign Minister Mammadyarov reiterated on September 23 in New
York at a meeting with U.S. Co-Chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group James
Warlick that "for resolving the conflict, first of all, Armenia must
withdraw its military forces from the territory of Azerbaijan". It
should be noted that the position of official Baku turned into a
dogma, which is not subject either to time or to common sense. The
imperative phrase itself - "first of all" - points to the incoherence
of the Azerbaijani diplomacy, which elevates to a rank of priority
minor settlement issues, which are the conflict consequences and not
its cause. Meanwhile, FIRST OF ALL, it is necessary to remove the
cause of the conflict itself, which is the aggressive policy of
Azerbaijan towards Nagorno-Karabakh, which has self-determined in
accordance with the legal norms. The basic issue of settlement was and
is the future political status of the NKR, which, in accordance with
the principles proposed by the mediators, should be determined on the
basis of legally binding free expression of the people's will.
Apparently, the Azerbaijani authorities have not yet matured enough to
understand this truth.
Putting, as they say, the cart before the horse, the Azerbaijani
party, first, proves the absurdity and impracticability of its
proposals, and, second, its unwillingness to resolve the issue on the
basis of international law and sober assessment of the reality. If
Mammadyarov and his President intend to go to Paris with a similar
negotiation luggage, so the meeting is inevitably doomed to failure,
and one can only express regret to Francois Hollande, with all due
respect to his peacemaking initiative.
Leonid MARTIROSSIAN
Editor-in-Chief of Azat Artsakh newspaper
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
http://artsakhtert.com/eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1564:-will-azerbaijan-continue-putting-the-cart-before-the-horse&catid=3:all&Itemid=4
Friday, 26 September 2014 16:34
Recently, certain intensification of efforts by the mediators in the
Karabakh conflict settlement process has been fixed. Sometimes, it
even seems that the co-chair states of the OSCE Minsk Group have
started a kind of race between each other to intercept the mediation
initiative, trying to bring the parties to the table of direct
negotiations. I must say, the start to the race was given by Russian
President Vladimir Putin who organized the August meeting in Sochi
between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan; according to most
analysts, the meeting was very useful and allowed to remove the
dangerous escalation created by the Baku regime in the conflict zone,
preventing the latter's growing into a "hot phase".
Then, in early September, on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in
Wales, a meeting of the U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, with the
Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan took place. Last Tuesday, in the
framework of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly in New York,
consultations of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs with the foreign
ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan took place, during which the
preparations for the organization of the meeting of the two states'
Presidents in Paris were discussed; the initiator of the meeting is
the President of France. It should be noted that Francois Hollande
made a similar proposal still before the Sochi meeting, however
Vladimir Putin appeared to be more persistent and managed to seat
Sargsyan and Aliyev at the negotiation table, which, however, did not
make the President of the Fifth Republic abandon his idea.
So, the Paris meeting is not spoken of as something of a final
decision. Most likely, it is so, as the French party stated that the
Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan had agreed to hold the
negotiations in Paris. The approximate date of the Summit is already
stated - the second half of October. Considering this fact, the OSCE
Minsk Group co-chairs have stated their intention to visit the region
in October.
As we can see, the mediators cannot be condemned of the lack of
initiative and desire to intensify the negotiation process and to
enhance its efficiency. In their view, the upcoming meeting in Paris
should become an important addition to the work started in Sochi and
continued in Wales. In particular, the Russian Co-Chairman of the OSCE
Minsk Group, Igor Popov, noted in a media interview that the meeting
in Paris could take place in the context of the joint efforts of the
co-chair states aimed at transferring the principles agreed by the
"troika" at the highest level to a practical platform and achieving a
stable solution. However, he wisely added that he wouldn't do any
forecast. And he will be right.
Appreciating the efforts of the mediators, we should, however, note
that the success of the negotiation process largely, if not entirely,
depends on the parties to the conflict and their positions and
approaches to the settlement process. It depends also, and not the
least, on the attitude to the mediators and their proposed format of
negotiations. The matter is not now that through the fault of
Azerbaijan the Minsk Group format is distorted, because
Nagorno-Karabakh is outside of it, which makes a priori problematic
the implementation of the hypothetical peace agreement, which is
currently stated by the co-chairs. And the matter is that official
Baku has long been making attempts to transfer the settlement process
to other formats, which clearly shows its non-confidence towards the
Minsk Group. That is despite the fact that the international mediators
have repeatedly stated at different levels that there are no
alternatives to the Minsk Group. Igor Popov himself stressed in the
noted interview that "any attempts to modify the format or create
parallel mechanisms may lead to the erosion of the negotiation process
and setbacks in the positions of the parties".
On the other hand, Azerbaijan's similar running from one format to
another testifies that the supposed outcome of the negotiations, which
will be reflected in the so-called Big Peace Agreement, does not
satisfy it at all. This is indirectly confirmed by the fact that the
Azerbaijani party constantly poses unacceptable conditions, which has
a very negative impact on the settlement process.
So, Foreign Minister Mammadyarov reiterated on September 23 in New
York at a meeting with U.S. Co-Chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group James
Warlick that "for resolving the conflict, first of all, Armenia must
withdraw its military forces from the territory of Azerbaijan". It
should be noted that the position of official Baku turned into a
dogma, which is not subject either to time or to common sense. The
imperative phrase itself - "first of all" - points to the incoherence
of the Azerbaijani diplomacy, which elevates to a rank of priority
minor settlement issues, which are the conflict consequences and not
its cause. Meanwhile, FIRST OF ALL, it is necessary to remove the
cause of the conflict itself, which is the aggressive policy of
Azerbaijan towards Nagorno-Karabakh, which has self-determined in
accordance with the legal norms. The basic issue of settlement was and
is the future political status of the NKR, which, in accordance with
the principles proposed by the mediators, should be determined on the
basis of legally binding free expression of the people's will.
Apparently, the Azerbaijani authorities have not yet matured enough to
understand this truth.
Putting, as they say, the cart before the horse, the Azerbaijani
party, first, proves the absurdity and impracticability of its
proposals, and, second, its unwillingness to resolve the issue on the
basis of international law and sober assessment of the reality. If
Mammadyarov and his President intend to go to Paris with a similar
negotiation luggage, so the meeting is inevitably doomed to failure,
and one can only express regret to Francois Hollande, with all due
respect to his peacemaking initiative.
Leonid MARTIROSSIAN
Editor-in-Chief of Azat Artsakh newspaper
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress