BERNARD FASSIER: “WAR MAY BE SOLUTION OF A PROBLEM IN NO CASE”

YEREVAN, APRIL 14, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The OSCE Minsk Group
Co-Chair countries are deeply sure that there is no alternative for
peace in the Karabakh issue. Ambassador Bernard Fassier, the OSCE
Minsk Group French Co-Chairman stated about this at the April 13
press-conference taken place in Yerevan. He expressed anxiety on the
occasion that after the Rambouillet meeting of the Presidents of
Armenia and Azerbaijan, there have been conflicts and even victims on
the contact line. “We must remind the sides that the war may be
solution of the issue in no case. The war is the worst variant for the
two countries as it will solve nothing: irrespective of results of the
war, the two countries will again appear on the initial positions,”
Bernard Fassier stated. He called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to build
the future together, not returning the one, that was in the past, and
not to fix their attention on the issue who was guilty in the past. He
persuaded to follow the example of France and Germany which found the
formula of a peacefull and mutually beneficial coexistence after wars
and disagreements of long years. Bernard Fassier informed that the
Co-Chairmen are ready to give the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
additional ideas for developing those principles on which a great work
has already been done. According to his insistence, it’s spoken about
new ideas. The French diplomate disproved all the conversations about
moving the negotiation process on peaceful settlement of the Karabakh
conflict into other possible formats. According to him, the OSCE Minsk
Group format is unchanging.

“We decisively intend to use any proper possibility for settlement of
the conflict, it’s a new approach in the Co-Chairmen’s work,”
Ambassador Fassier stated. According to him, the Co-Chairmen
attempted in Rambouillet to form some agreement based on fundamental
principles. In his opinion, reaching agreement relating to fundamental
principles will make adoption of the framework agreement
easier. Fassier mentioned that the Co-Chairmen’s goal is to find those
proposals which will be aimed to improvement of the future agreement.