MOSCOW DECLARATION FACILITATES KARABAKH SETTLEMENT – U.S. DIPLOMAT

Interfax
Nov 14 2008
Russia

BAKU. Nov 13 (Interfax) – The Moscow Declaration signed by Azerbaijan,
Armenia and Russia helps settle the Karabakh problem, said Matthew
Bryza, the U.S. co-chairman of the Minsk Group, brokering the
settlement. Bryza told reporters in Baku on Thursday that Russia
had played a positive role [in settling the conflict], while the
declaration signed on November 1 in Moscow facilitates the Minsk
Group’s activities.

The co-chairmen handed their proposals to the conflicting parties in
Madrid a year ago and now they must be coordinated, he said.

Regarding the basic principles, they are balanced and, hopefully,
the territories will be returned to Azerbaijan, so refugees could
return to their homes, Bryza said.

A corridor could be formed between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh as part
of the settlement, and peacekeepers could be deployed in this zone,
he said. The issue of a future vote on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh
will depend on an agreement between the Azeri and Armenian presidents,
he said. Bryza noted, that a level of trust and respect exists between
the two presidents.

The U.S. diplomat also welcomed Turkey’s growing role in ensuring
peace and stability in the South Caucasus. Turkey is a very important
country and a NATO ally, and it must play a significant role in the
Caucasus. This is happening now, he said.