IF THE ST. PETERSBURG MEETING IS SUCCESSFUL, DIFFERENCES ON BASIC PRINCIPLES COULD BE REDUCED TO CLOSE TO ZERO, M. BRYZA SAYS
ArmInfo
2007-06-01 16:36:00
Armenia and Azerbaijan have made substantial progress toward a
settlement on control of a disputed territory, the chief U.S. mediator
in the talks told the Associated Press.
After more than a decade of efforts by international mediators to
broker a deal on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azerbaijani
and Armenian presidents are close to solving most remaining obstacles
to an agreement on basic principles, according to Matthew Bryza,
U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state.
President Ilham Aliev of Azerbaijan and Armenian President Robert
Kocharian are expected to focus on the sticking points during
talks in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 9. "If the St. Petersburg
meeting is successful, then the number of differences remaining
on basic principles could be reduced to close to zero," Bryza told
The Associated Press. Diplomats from the so-called Minsk group of
mediators from Russia, France and the United States have in the past
expressed optimism toward breakthroughs on the difficult dispute only
to see negotiations turn backward.
Despite signs of progress in the talks, tensions in the region
remain high.
Azerbaijan has been building up its military as its economy has
boomed from oil revenues at one of the fastest clips of any in the
world. It controls portions of the Caspian Sea, on its eastern
fringe, which has some of the largest oil and gas fields in the
former Soviet Union. Bryza would not identify the unresolved issues,
but he outlined some of the basic principles already reached for
a potential resolution. The two sides have agreed on the return of
districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh that are also under ethnic
Armenian control.
Bryza would not say whether there is an agreement on the return of
refugees to the region or on any compensation for those who fled
the territory.
Negotiators have agreed that a settlement would stipulate that a vote
would be held in the future on the territory’s status, but they have
not yet agreed on the timing of the poll or the details of who would
be entitled to vote.
An international peacekeeping force would be present during the interim
period before the vote, and a land corridor would be established
from the territory to Armenia, open to ethnic Armenians living in
Nagorno-Karabakh. Bryza praised the two sides for making progress on
an issue that stirs passions within both countries.
"The leadership of Armenia and Azerbaijan should be lauded for their
courage in trying to bring stability and prosperity to their peoples,"
he said.