UN GA RESOLUTION ON FIRES IN TERRITORIES ADJACENT TO NKR ON THE WHOLE ACCEPTABLE FOR ARMENIAN SIDE

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Sept 08 2006

NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The
A/60/L.60/Rev.2 draft resolution initiated by Azerbaijan on fires in
territories adjacent to Nagorno Karabakh was adopted on September
7, at the 60th session of UN General Assembly. As NT was informed
from RA Foreign Ministry Press Service, Armenia had negotiated on
the draft resolution and had come to agreement in the issue of its
content and formulations. As a result, the document, on the whole,
became acceptable for the Armenian side. RA Foreign Ministry provided
the resolution text, the statement by H.E. Mr. Armen Martirosyan,
Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Armenia to
the United Nations, as well as the English original variant of the
Co-chairs’ statement. Below is the resolution, Armen Martirosian’s
statement and Co-chairs’ statement: Sixtieth Session of the UN
General Assembly Azerbaijan: resolution The situation in the occupied
territories of Azerbaijan The General Assembly, Seriously concerned by
the fires in the affected territories, which have inflicted widespread
environmental damage, Stresses the necessity to urgently conduct
an environmental operation to suppress the fires in the affected
territories and to overcome their detrimental consequences; Welcomes
the readiness of the parties to cooperate to that end and considers
such an operation to be an important confidence-building measure;
Takes note of the OSCE intention to organize a mission to the region
to assess the short-term and long-term impact of the fires on the
environment as a step for preparation of the environmental operation;
Calls upon, in this regard, the organizations and programs of the
United Nations system, in particular the United Nations Environmental
Programme, in cooperation with the OSCE to provide all necessary
assistance and expertise, including, inter alia, the assessment
of and counteraction to the short-term and long-term impact of
the environmental degradation of the region, as well as in its
rehabilitation; Asks the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group of the OSCE to
provide a report to member States of the General Assembly by April
30, 2007. Statement by Armen Martirosyan, Ambassador, Permanent
Representative of the Republic of Armenia to the United Nations:
"The draft resolution at hand addresses an issue, which we thought
had been brought to a close, two weeks ago, through discussions
with the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, the Minsk Group Co-chairs and
the OSCE Chairman-in-Office’s Personal Representative. A decision
was taken to send a mission of experts under the OSCE to assess the
fires. The authorities of Nagorno Karabagh had already accepted this
proposal, and Armenia was certainly ready to use its good offices to
facilitate such a mission. It was our understanding that Azerbaijan
had also agreed. Given all this, it was surprising to see a draft
resolution circulating at the UN on this same issue, especially since
it called for a parallel mission under the UN auspices. This approach
was unacceptable. We considered such a step to be an obstacle to
continuing negotiations. And, since it was clearly intended to pursue
other political ends, Armenia opposed this motion. However, as a
result of our consultations with the Minsk Group Co-chairs, we have
come to agreement on a text that simply reiterates support for the
OSCE mission. In this regard we would like to welcome the readiness
of all the parties to negotiate in the spirit of compromise under
the able and very effective mediation of the Minsk Group Co-chairs.

Nevertheless, although we support the content of the agreement, we
continue to remain opposed to the general idea of this agenda item and
a UN resolution under it. That is the reason Armenia dissociates itself
from the consensus on this resolution. Statement of the OSCE Minsk
Group Co-Chair Countries: "The Russian Federation, France, and the
United States of America, as the Co-Chair countries of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk Group, remain committed
to promoting a peaceful, negotiated resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. In this capacity, we take with great seriousness concerns
raised by either side to the conflict regarding threats to the
security and stability of the region, as well as any developments
that pose new obstacles to the negotiation process. Accordingly,
we have examined closely the information provided by the Government
of Azerbaijan regarding fires in the eastern part of the occupied
territories of Azerbaijan surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. We also note
the report of the Personal Representative of the Chairman-in-Office
of the OSCE, who, at the request of the Government of Azerbaijan and
direction of the Chairman-in-Office, has carried out a monitoring
mission to the affected areas. We note, in particular, that fires
of both natural and manmade origin are a regular occurrence in the
region in question. The question of whether more extensive fires
this year are a cause of ecological concern requiring international
attention to their suppression is one that can only be answered
through a technical examination of the situation. Therefore, the
Co-Chairs stand ready, together with the Personal Representative of
the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, to lend their immediate assistance to the
organization of an OSCE mission, with the support and expertise of
the United Nations Environmental Programme, and to report to the UN
General Assembly 011 the results of the mission, as requested in the
present resolution, as well as to the OSCE. We commend the spirit of
goodwill demonstrated by both Armenia and Azerbaijan in agreeing to
cooperate to address the situation raised through this resolution. We
hope the agreement reached today reflects a new readiness by both
sides to engage in further measures to build confidence that will
advance the process of negotiations, and we will redouble our efforts,
through the OSCE’s Minsk Group, to promote such activities. We note
that over the past two years, the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group have
worked intensively with the Foreign Ministers and Presidents of Armenia
and Azerbaijan to identify core principles of an agreement that would
lead to a just and lasting settlement. Our nations, reinforced by
the voices of the Group of Eight leading nations at their summit in
St. Petersburg in July, have called on the Presidents of both Armenia
and Azerbaijan to accept now these core principles as a basis for
resolution of the conflict, and to prepare their publics for peace,
and not war.

We reiterate that call today and restate the readiness of our
governments to lend full support to the achievement and implementation
of a peace agreement."