BERNARD FASSIE BELIEVES SETTLEMENT OF NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT WILL SATISFY ONLY 80% OF SIDES’ CLAIMS
By Aghavni Harutyunian
AZG Armenian Daily
13/04/2006
“We can’t take decisions instead of the both sides.
These are going to be very hard decisions to take, as not a single
peaceful settlement can’t justify the hopes of at least one of the
sides for 100%. But I can say that there is a settlement that can
secure satisfaction of over 50% of the sides’ expectations.
Though the governments of both sides should take the final decision,”
Bernard Fassie, OSCE Minsk Group’s French c-chair, made this statement
in the course of his visit to Baku.
He said that 2005 was rather a tense year from the viewpoint of
the negotiations. As a result, the sides managed to define the main
principles for the peaceful settlement. Fassie said that the presidents
failed to come to agreement around the unsettled principles during
the Rambouillet meeting.
The French co-chair also informed that after his visits to Baku and
Yerevan, Steven Mann will arrive in the region on April 18. He added
that Yuri Merzliakov will visit the South Caucasus already at the end
April. Afterwards, in early may, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs will
meet in Moscow to make the conclusion of the April meetings.
According to Mr. Fassie, most likely, after the May discussions in
Moscow, the co-chairs will visit Armenia and Azerbaijan to prepare the
new meeting of Presidents Kocharian and Aliyev. “I am sure that there
is an opportunity to achieve agreement of both presidents,” Fassie
said. Only after this, the co-chairs will represent the main principles
of new settlement to the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan.