OSCE MG HOPEFUL YEREVAN AND BAKU WILL REACH AGREEMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
30.06.2006 13:34 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Our deputy ministers proposed to Presidents Aliyev
and Kocharian a set of core principles that we believe are fair,
balanced, workable, and that could pave the way for the two sides to
draft a far-reaching settlement agreement. We continue to believe in
these principles, and we urge the Presidents to embrace them as the
basis for an agreement," says the statement made by the OSCE Minsk
Group Co-chairs and submitted to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna
June 22. "Unfortunately, the Presidents chose not to reach such an
agreement in Bucharest. As mediators in this process, we will not
breach the confidentiality of their sensitive diplomatic dialogue,
as we continue to hope that they will reach an agreement.

At this juncture, though, it is our responsibility to you,
Mr. Chairman, to this Council that has provided the funding for a very
intensive series of negotiations, to the international community, and –
perhaps most importantly – to the publics in Armenia and Azerbaijan,
to acquaint you with the basic principles that we have put on the
table for the consideration of the two Presidents. We note that the
principles the Co-Chair countries proposed to the two Presidents were
not developed in a vacuum, but follow on to nine years of detailed
proposals that have been advanced by our predecessors. Even though
3 those proposals were not accepted by the parties, that work of our
predecessors gave us important insights and foundations. Our approach
has been a modified one: we have not tried to solve all aspects of
the conflict in one phase. Instead, our principles seek to achieve
a major degree of progress but defer some very difficult issues to
the future and envision further negotiations.

In sum, they try to solve – in a practical, balanced way – what
is immediately solvable. These principles include the phased
redeployment of Armenian troops from Azerbaijani territories around
Nagorno-Karabakh, with special modalities for Kelbajar and Lachin
districts. Demilitarization of those territories would follow. A
referendum or population vote would be agreed, at an unspecified future
date, to determine the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh. The
sides would commit to further negotiations to define the timing and
modalities of such a referendum or population vote. Certain interim
arrangements for Nagorno-Karabakh would allow for interaction with
providers of international assistance. An international peacekeeping
force would be deployed. A joint commission would be created to
implement the agreement. International financial assistance would
be made available for demining, reconstruction, and resettlement of
internally displaced persons in the formerly occupied territories
and the war-affected regions of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The sides would renounce the use or threat of use of force, and
international and bilateral security guarantees and assurances would
be put in place. We note with respect to the idea of a referendum or
population vote to determine the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh
that such a vote would be the product of a negotiated agreement
between the two sides.

Suitable pre-conditions for such a vote would have to be achieved
so that the vote would take place in a non-coercive environment in
which well-informed citizens have had ample opportunity to consider
their positions after a vigorous debate in the public arena," says
the statement.