MATTHEW BRYZA: TO REACH POLITICAL SETTLEMENT OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT, ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE TO REACH A COMPROMISE ON NK’S STATUS
arminfo
2008-08-05 13:49:00
ArmInfo. "Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers’ meeting in
Moscow on August 1 was positive. As both Ministers Elmar Mammadyarov
and Edward Nalbandian stated at their press conference, their one-
on-one discussion lasted over an hour and was held in a positive mood,"
American Co-Chair of OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza told APA.
He said the Foreign Ministers agreed to continue negotiations under the
Minsk Group to reconcile their countries’ respective positions on the
remaining issues as outlined in the Co-Chairs’ November 2007 Madrid
Document, which sets out suggestions proposed by the Co-Chairs to
guide the negotiation of a framework agreement for a final resolution.
"The Co-Chairs’ suggestions form a balanced package. It is very
important to remember that no single element has been agreed. The only
way any element of the Madrid Document can be agreed is if all elements
are agreed at the same time in a broad package," the Co-Chair said.
Matthew Bryza said the Co-Chairs proceed from a starting position of
recognizing Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.
"To reach a political settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
Armenia and Azerbaijan will eventually have to reach a compromise on
NK’s status. We cannot predict what that compromise will look like,
or when it will emerge.
But, the Co-Chairs recommend that the residents of NK play a key
role in determining their region’s status through some type of voting
process at some point in the future," he said.
American mediator considers that the specifics of such a voting
process must be negotiated. "Such a voting process could only emerge
after the return of internally displaced persons and refugees, which
could take quite some time," he said.