MATTHEW BRYZA: WHAT IS ON THE TABLE IS A FAIR AND BALANCED COMPROMISE

armradio.am
25.03.2008 12:45

Commenting on the recent criticism of the Minsk Group by Azerbaijan,
the US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza declared in an
interview with the Armenian Reporter that he "does not think that
any of the people that are out there criticizing the Minsk Group
proposals are aware of what is really in the proposal."

"What is on the table is a fair and balanced compromise that includes
elements that are attractive to Azerbaijan, an interpretation of
which was cited in the UN GA resolution, but there are also many
elements that are very attractive to Armenia that were not cited in
that resolution," Matthew Bryza said.

Speaking about the possibility of the meeting between RA
President-Elect and the President of Azerbaijan on the sidelines of
the NATO summit in Bucharest, the American mediator said he could
not mention the exact time.

"The calendar is a bit complicated in that President-elect Sargsyan
will not be inaugurated until April 9, and the summit in Romania is
from April 2 to 4. So Prime Minister Sargsyan will not yet be the
President. There is a protocol problem, which could lead to a delay,
but it is up to them if they get together there. And if they don’t,
they would be able to meet shortly thereafter. In terms of agenda,
it is clear now that the President-Elect of Armenia is in favor
of continuing on the basis of the proposal on the table as it was
presented at the OSCE ministerial meeting in Madrid last November,"
Matthew Bryza said.

If Armenia recognizes Nagorno Karabakh, "that will be something that
is very seriously undermining the peace process," Matthew Bryza
said, commenting on the talks in Armenia that it should recognize
the independence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic after the recent
non-constructive actions of Azerbaijan.

"I think any move that prejudges the outcome of the negotiations
that are underway and that are achieving some real results in
terms of moving closer to finalizing the basic principles would be
unhelpful. And we looked at the UN GA resolution of Azerbaijan in that
very light: that it was a one-sided resolution that did not reflect
the fair and balanced nature of the proposal on the table. Similarly,
if the Armenian side were to move unilaterally and prejudge the outcome
of the negotiations by recognizing Nagorno Karabakh, that would be
something that is very seriously undermining the peace process,"
the US diplomat noted.

"I think that would be a highly asymmetric response to Azerbaijan’s
move at the UN GA and potentially a highly destabilizing move. It
would mean to decide that this is the end of the negotiating process
and we have unilaterally declared that the conflict is resolved in
this way," Bryza said.

Commenting on the possibility that some of US assistance programs
may be suspended because of the events in Armenia, the US Co-Chair
of the OSCE Minsk Group said "since positive steps have been taken
in terms of the lifting of the state of emergency in Armenia, there
is no need for us to take negative steps on our side."

"I hope very much that lifting of the state of emergency moves tensions
in Armenia to a new phase, in which freedoms and democratic momentum
in Armenia are restored and we get back on track with all of the
items on our important agenda," Matthe Bryza said.