NEW PRINCIPLES OF NK CONFLICT’ SETTLEMENT IS CONTINUATION OF PRAGUE PROCESS
Baku Today, Azerbaijan
April 11 2006
The process for settlement of the Karabakh conflict continues,
Chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Bernar Fassier said at a press
conference today.
He also said that his visit to the region was agreed on by Azerbaijan
and Armenia’s leadership, and he will leave Baku for Yerevan.
After his trip there the co-chairmen will gather in Moscow to discuss
the results of their visits to the region, Fassier said, recalling that
the American and Russian cochairmen, Steven Mann and Yuri Merzliakov,
are also coming to the region.
The meetings must help to form the basic principles of a future
peaceful agreement, Fassier said. He said that their work would be
very intense, and in May they will again visit Baku and Yerevan for the
arrangement of a meeting between Armenia and Azerbaijan’s presidents.
“Then terms of meeting are not known, but I hope they will agree to
it. New principles of settlements will be submitted to the presidents,”
Fassier said.
According to him, there are some variants where the interest and
wishes of the sides have been taken into account by 50 and even 80
percent. He said that this meeting is a continuation and a changed
variant of the Prague process.
Fassier expressed concern however, because the work done in 2005 did
not have results, though principles of settlement were determined.
“In Ramboulliet we tried to multiply the obtained results, but
unfortunately could not reach an agreement. We are happy that it did
not bring a break in the talks, and that they continue,” Fassier said.
Fassier expressed concern about recent aggravation of the situation
on the front line, and said that resumption of war will worsen the
situation and could cause a crisis for “Azerbaijan’s prospering
economy”.
The Prague process provided for a stage by stage variant of the
conflict’s settlement: the Armenians must liberate occupied lands
around Karabakh and the refugees must return there; the opening of
communication between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and the question on
Nagorno Karabakh’s status is to be solved later.