COLLISION OF IDEAS IN OSCE

A1+
25-01-2005

The Armenian delegation to the Council of Europe finds the resolution
about the Karabakh conflict adopted today extremely negative. As Armen
Roustamyan mentioned in his report, the Report only does not
correspond to its aim – to avoid the use of force, but moreover –
it sets Azerbaijan free.

According to Roustamyan, the report will create new difficulties in
the conflict and will no how contribute to its settlement. During the
discussion of the report, when 4 members of the Armenian delegation
made speech – Shavarsh Kocharyan, Armen Roustamyan, Tigran Torosyan,
and Artashes Gegamyan, two tendencies were noticeable. The Armenian
party tried to stress the right of self-determination, proving that
the insertion Karabakh into Azerbaijan by force will cause new
tensions and bloodshed.

The Azerbaijani delegation did everything in order not to introduce
any changes in the draft resolution and it succeeded. François
Rogeblois from the European National party, representative of the
French delegation, indirectly supported the Armenian point of
view. `The borders are the heritageof the past’, said the French
delegate, `stability in the region must be founded on the right of
self-determination’. Besides, several delegates from France, Greece,
and Italy underlined that the participation of the Karabakh
representatives is necessary in the negotiation process, for the
settlement of the conflict is impossible without the participation of
the people.

It is also worth mentioning that the delegates of Russia did not make
speech.

However, the majority of the delegates thought that the David
Atkinson’s report is a `balanced’ approach to the problem. The
resolution is adopted, which can be ground for the Armenian party to
reconsider the strategy in the field of foreign policy.