OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS: NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT SIDES MUST REFRAIN FROM UNILATERAL ACTIONS EITHER AT THE NEGOTIATING TABLE OR IN THE FIELD

arminfo
2008-03-18 14:54:00

ArmInfo. The United States, France and the Russian Federation,
in their capacity as Co-Chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group dealing
with the Nagorno- Karabakh conflict, issued the following statement
on March 14, 2008 in the United Nations General Assembly regarding
their decision to vote against the ‘Resolution on the Situation in
the Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan’.

As press service of OSCE headquarters in Vienna told ArmInfo, the
statement reads, in particular: ‘The political-level representatives of
France, the Russian Federation, and the United States, as Co-Chairs of
the OSCE Minsk Group dealing with the Nagorno- Karabakh (NK) conflict,
jointly proposed a set of basic principles for the peaceful settlement
of the Nagorno-Karabakh (NK) conflict to the sides in November 2007
on the margins of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Madrid. These basic
principles are founded on the provisions of the Helsinki Final Act,
including those related to refraining from the threat or use of force,
the territorial integrity of the states, and the equal rights and self-
determination of peoples. The proposal transmitted to the sides in
Madrid comprises a balanced package of principles that are currently
under negotiation. The sides have agreed that no single element is
agreed until all elements are agreed by the parties.

Unfortunately, this draft resolution selectively propagates only
certain of these principles to the exclusion of others, without
considering the Co-Chairs’ proposal in its balanced entirety.

Because of this selective approach, the three OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair
countries must oppose this unilateral draft resolution. They reiterate
that a peaceful, equitable, and lasting settlement of the NK conflict
will require unavoidable compromises among the parties that reflect
the principles of territorial integrity, non-use of force, and equal
rights of peoples, as well as other principles of international law.

While the three Minsk Group Co-Chair countries will vote against this
unilateral draft resolution, which threatens to undermine the peace
process, they reaffirm their support for the territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan, and thus do not recognize the independence of NK.

At a time when serious clashes have occurred along the Line of
Contact with loss of life, both sides must refrain from unilateral and
maximalist actions either at the negotiating table or in the field."