RUSSIA’S LAVROV SEES SPEEDY SOLUTION AHEAD FOR GARABAGH

AssA-Irada
October 7, 2008 Tuesday
Azerbaijan

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said a culmination
in settling the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno)
Garabagh appears quite realistic. Just two to three issues regarding
the conflict settlement, which are to be agreed at the next meetings
of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents, remain unresolved, he told
local Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper. Such meetings, Lavrov said, will
take place shortly after Azerbaijans October 15 presidential election.

First of all, the Lachin corridor is involved. And, as one of the
three mediators, we feel that a culmination is quite real. Certainly,
it is up to Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve it within direct
agreements, but the mediators Russia, the U.S. and France who
perfectly understand all the subtleties and sensitivity of this
process, see the possibility of a culmination, Lavrov said. The three
countries co-chair the OSCE Minsk Group, which is brokering the peace
process. The Lachin corridor is a road connecting Upper (Nagorno)
Garabagh, an Azeri region currently under occupation, with Armenian
territory. The minister said that prior to the escalation of tension
in the Caucasus region sparked by the outbreak of the Russian-Georgian
armed conflict, a very good chance had emerged for advancing Garabagh
conflict settlement by holding meetings between Azeri and Armenian
leaders with the mediation of the MG co-chairs. Then, a substantial
document essentially outlining all principles and mechanisms of a
settlement had been developed. Lavrov went on to say that each of
the parties involved in the process of resolving the Garabagh problem
has its own profound interests.

In particular, Armenia faces the task of overcoming a blockade in
order to further gain access to the rest of the world. According to
Lavrov, the problems that Armenia experienced during the Caucasus
crisis, notably, difficulties with uninterrupted transit of goods
through Georgia that are vitally important for Armenian citizens,
show an absolute necessity and urgency of reaching the speediest
solution to the Garabagh problem. The persistent situation, whereby
South Ossetia and Abkhazia [Georgias rebel regions] will be under a
constant threat of military attack, with the threat of interruption
of this transit vitally important for Armenia lingering on, meets
no ones interests, Lavrov said. He said the importance of preventing
this explains Yerevans aspiration to unlock the Garabagh conflict as
soon as possible, which would serve as a tool not only to normalize
its relations with Ankara, but also to open up Armenias link to the
outside world through the territory of neighboring Turkey. Georgia
launched large-scale military operations on August 8 in its rebel
region of South Ossetia to restore its territorial integrity. Moscow
responded by sending troops to the pro-Russian region which struck at
the Georgian armed forces using overwhelming force. A ceasefire was,
subsequently, reached on August 17.