PanARMENIAN.Net

Conflicts like that of Nagorno-Karabakh take time to be resolved

Ilham Aliyev’s zeal for war has lately been subdued a
little, and one may only guess what stands behind it.
16.03.2007 GMT+04:00

Another meeting over the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict regulation
was held between the Armenian and Azerbaijani Ministers of Foreign
Affairs and as it was expected no crucial decisions were made. The
question is whether or not the OSCE Minsk Group will manage to bring
the parties to a common solution in coming several years or
not. Conflicts like that of Nagorno-Karabakh are not resolved even in
10 years. For instance the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has existed
for already 60 years; however it doesn’t seem to be resolved soon.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Israeli’s stubborn unwillingness to face the
existing facts periodically brings to armed conflicts, which delay the
conflict regulation process. It is obvious that Azerbaijan intends to
follow Israeli’s example and threatens with war from time to
time. However Ilham Aliyev’s zeal for war has lately been subdued a
little and one may only guess what stands behind it. Most likely
Bernard Facie’s announcements about the possible enrollment of
Nagorno-Karabakh representatives in the negotiations played its
role. Pressure displayed by the International Community, which is
interested in the stability of the region is not excluded either. In
the opinion of the RA Minister of Foreign Affairs the negotiations for
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict regulation move on very slowly. Vartan
Oskanyan mentioned that; `An attempt to discuss the second part of the
document according to Karabakh conflict regulation principles was
made, and though there is the clear conception of the opposite party’s
position, considerable differences do still exist.’ Differences first
of all concern Nagorno-Karabakh status, returning the refugees, and
clearing the territory of mines. It is also necessary to mention that
the role of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh in the process is
mentioned in passing. This gave the Nagorno-Karabakh President Arkadi
Khukasyan reasons to announce about `some differences of opinions with
Armenia.’ `Because we are not considered immediate participants of the
negotiations, we are deprived of the opportunity to feel all the
nuances existing in the process of negotiations.’ Both minor and major
differences over Nagorno-Karabakh conflict regulation exist between
Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Perhaps it will not be correct to speak
about these differences, as it is our home business. However we do not
lose hope that the differences of the opinions between Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh may be overcome,’ Khukasyan mentioned. Let us hope,
that those differences will indeed be overcome, otherwise Azerbaijan
will benefit from them.

Resuming the meeting the OSCE Minsk Group made a traditional joint
statement, which said, `The ministers led open and constructive
discussions of the issues raised by the parties after the Aliev –
Kocharyan meeting held in Minsk in November 2006. The ministers
grounded their positions regarding the matters giving rise to some
disagreements. This will allow continuing the discussions of the basic
principles of the future regulation of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.’

It should be mentioned that the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of both
countries are intending to meet in April and perhaps in May for
preparations for the future meeting of the two presidents. However, as
the French mediator noticed it is very frivolous to speak about any
meeting between the two presidents by the termination of the
Parliamentary Elections in Armenia. «PanARMENIAN.Net»
analytical department