UPSET MEDIATORS CALL FOR ANOTHER ARMENIAN-AZERI SUMMIT
By Emil Danielyan

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
July 16 2007

International mediators have called on the presidents of Armenia
and Azerbaijan to meet again and try to achieve a breakthrough on
Nagorno-Karabakh this year, while questioning their commitment to
mutual compromise.

In a written statement, the U.S., Russian and French mediators
confirmed that Presidents Ilham Aliev and Robert Kocharian failed to
iron out their "remaining differences" on a framework peace agreement
proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group at their last meeting in Saint
Petersburg. They warned that failure to eliminate those differences
before the start of the 2008 presidential election campaign in both
South Caucasus states would nullify substantial progress made by the
conflicting parties in the last few years.

"We take due note of the parties’ recent statements of their
willingness to continue the negotiations on the basis of what has
been developed over the past years," the three co-chairs of the Minsk
Group said after a meeting in Vienna on Friday. "We urge them to give
life to these statements in the limited time remaining and to make
resolute efforts to consider again the fairly distributed benefits
of the solution embodied by the proposed basic principles."

"To that end, the Co-Chairs are ready to assist the parties in the
preparation for their next summit, at the first opportunity, in the
coming months," added their statement.

Officials in Baku and Yerevan have not ruled out the possibility of
another Armenian-Azerbaijani summit before the end of this year.

Agreement on it would have to be reached by the foreign ministers
of the two countries. It is not clear if any talks between them are
planned for the coming weeks.

The mediators cast doubt on Aliev’s and Kocharian’s willingness to make
"courageous decisions" now. "The Co-Chairs recognize that preservation
of the status quo after thirteen years of "no peace-no war" in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict may seem less difficult for the leaders of
Armenia and Azerbaijan than the mutual compromises that will lead to
an equitable and lasting settlement of the conflict and, ultimately,
to a new era of peace and prosperity for their people," they said.

In a passage that appears to have been primarily addressed to Aliev,
the Minsk Group troika deplored "militaristic statements threatening
use of force and creating the dangerous illusion that war is an option
for resolution of the conflict."

The mediators also criticized Thursday’s "so-called presidential
elections" in Karabakh. "Recalling their statements with respect to
previous votings in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Co-Chairs reiterate that,
like all other members of the international community, their countries
do not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent state, and such
"elections" should not have any impact on the peaceful settlement of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," they said.