OSCE OFFICIAL SEES ‘GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY’ FOR KARABAKH PEACE
By Karine Kalantarian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Feb 5 2007
A senior official from the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe on Monday again spoke of a "golden opportunity" to resolve
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, citing substantial progress made in
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks.
Goran Lennmarker, chairman of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly,
hinted that the conflicting parties will try to seal a compromise
peace accord shortly after the May parliamentary elections in Armenia.
"I think there is a golden opportunity to reach an agreement on
Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan," he told RFE/RL
during a visit to Yerevan.
The Swedish parliamentarian said earlier that such an opportunity was
created by last November’s meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani
presidents that rekindled hopes for a near-term solution to the
Karabakh dispute. Although President Robert Kocharian cautioned
afterwards that he will not cut any peace deals before the upcoming
elections, observers expect a fresh and possibly decisive push for
an Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement in the second half of this year.
"I think there is an opportunity after the parliamentary elections to
come to a conclusion," agreed Lennmarker. "It is said to be a frozen
conflict, but I don’t agree with that because people die along the
line of contact," he added. "Perhaps 20 to 30 people die there every
year, and you have a lot of refugees … So there is really a need
to have an agreement."
The American, French and Russian mediators co-chairing the OSCE’s
Minsk Group sounded cautiously optimistic about peace prospects after
their latest tour of the conflict zone. In a joint statement issued
on January 29, they urged the parties to "sustain this momentum
in the negotiations and to prepare their publics for the necessary
compromises."
The Karabakh issue featured large during Lennmarker’s meetings
with Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, parliament speaker Tigran
Torosian and other senior members of Armenia’s parliament. Torosian
reportedly praised the mediators’ efforts and reaffirmed Yerevan’s
overall acceptance of their existing peace proposals that call for a
gradual settlement culminating in a referendum of self-determination
in Karabakh.
Preparations for the Armenian parliamentary elections were also high
on the agenda of the talks, with Lennmarker emphasizing the importance
of their conformity with democratic standards. Torosian’s office quoted
him as saying that Armenia has "all prerequisites" to hold a first-ever
election recognized as free and fair by the international community.