NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA: KOCHARIAN-ALIYEV NEXT MEETING TO PROCEED ACCORDING TO STRICT AMERICAN SCENARIO
PanARMENIAN.Net
26.06.2006 12:55 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The new meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani
Presidents Robert Kocharian and Ilham Aliyev on the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict will most likely proceed according to strict American
scenario, Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper reports. It says "after the
recurrent failure of talks at the top level in Bucharest Americans
decided to take control over the settlement process." The U.S. State
Department has replaced its Co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group on the
Karabakh settlement. The post of the OSCE Minsk Group U.S. Co-chair
was assumed by Matthew J. Bryza, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary
of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.
Unlike his predecessors and counterpart from Russia and France Mr Bryza
shows a more open attitude towards journalists. The other day in an
interview with the RFE/RL the U.S. mediator for the first time slightly
uncovered the contents and fundamental principles of the conflict
settlement Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharian are supposed to sign. "At
the moment an organized document is lying on the bargaining table
but the parties refuse to accept it yet," Matthew Bryza said. In his
words, the framework agreement provides for the following: withdrawal
of the Armenian troops from the regions under Armenia’s control,
establishment diplomatic and economic relations between Armenia and
Azerbaijan, deployment of peacekeeping forces in the conflict zone,
international economic assistance to Nagorno Karabakh, conduction
of a referendum on the status of Nagorno Karabakh. Bryza called on
the Presidents to adopt this framework agreement. At that he said
"strong political will is essential for it."
"The new U.S. Co-chair will try to prompt the Presidents during the
visit to the region to he held in the near future. However, judging
from the reaction of Baku and Yerevan it won’t be easy for Bryza to
succeed. Last weekend when addressing the graduates of the military
college after Heydar Aliyev the Azerbaijani President openly said,
"We will restore our territorial integrity either peacefully or by
force," Nezavisimaya Gazeta says.