OSCE MINISTERS URGE PARTIES TO INTENSIFY GARABAGH TALKS

AzerNews Weekly
Dec 11 2008
Azerbaijan

The OSCE foreign ministers encouraged Azerbaijan and Armenia to
intensify talks on settling the conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh
following two-day of talks concluding in Helsinki on Friday.

Among the resolutions approved at the OSCE Foreign Ministers Council
included a ministerial statement regarding the Garabagh conflict. In
their statement, ministers welcomed the "constructive and positive
momentum in the peace process" for the political settlement of the
long-standing dispute.

Further, the ministers praised the talks held between the two
countries` presidents in St. Petersburg, Russia in June and in Moscow
early in November, including a declaration signed in the Russian
capital based upon the initiative of President Dmitry Medvedev. That
declaration further urged continuing the OSCE-mediated dialog between
the parties as well as joint efforts in bolstering stability in the
South Caucasus through a political settlement of the conflict. The
OSCE believes this will serve as a tool in reaching a negotiated
solution to the Garabagh problem and opens up broad opportunities to
accomplish the goal.

"We insistently call on the conflicting sides to continue talks within
the frame work of the [mediating] OSCE Minsk Group and to abide by
the Moscow declaration. We believe that the parties should speed
up the drafting of a basic agreement on the basis of the principles
outlined in Madrid on November 29, 2007."

The statement also noted that increasing mutual confidence between
the conflicting sides was one of the key conditions for finding a
solution to the Garabagh conflict.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing
of a cease-fire in 1994, but Armenia continues to occupy Upper Garabagh
and seven other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international
law. Peace talks have not yet resulted in resolving the conflict.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said while addressing
the OSCE ministerial on Thursday that international law stipulates
that Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity must be the basis for a
settlement in the Garabagh region. He also praised the declaration
signed at the end of Moscow-brokered trilateral talks on November 2.

Mammadyarov went on to brand the Garabagh problem as a major source
of instability.

Further, the minister noted that the Azerbaijani and Armenian
presidents have pledged to seek a political settlement to the conflict.

"What`s important is to ensure a normal life for both Azerbaijanis
and Armenians in Garabagh, and to forge cooperation and ties. I
believe that Armenians also comprehend and support our position,"
Mammadyarov said.

He emphasized that the OSCE plays a special role in the conflict
resolution, but expressed concern over the group`s focusing exclusively
on human rights.

"We have to reaffirm our commitment to the principles of the Helsinki
Final Act and recognize the principle of the territorial integrity and
sovereignty of states in the backdrop of the latest developments. We
have to use the organization`s experience and recommendations in
settling the conflict. But the OSCE`s placing an emphasis on human
rights alone perturbs us. We support a more just and balanced stance,"
Mammadyarov said.

OSCE Chairman-in-Office Alexander Stubb, in his remarks, pointed
out the importance of the European security body`s further efforts
in settling "frozen" conflicts. Stubb added that the Minsk Group`s
activity "inspires his optimism."

Further, William Burns, US Under Secretary of State for Political
Affairs, called for a more vigorous effort to resolve lingering
disputes.

"We have to redouble our efforts for the solution of frozen
conflicts. More specifically, we welcome the latest steps on Upper
Garabagh taken by Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sarkisian,"
Burns told the Council meeting.

He stressed that the conflict settlement process should be continued
within the Minsk Group and urged both Baku and Yerevan to keep on
negotiating both in the bilateral format and with the OSCE mediators.

Goran Lennmarker, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) rapporteur
on the Garabagh conflict, said in Helsinki that a document on the
principles of conflict settlement could be signed before the spring
of 2009.

He noted that the parties were very close to a settlement. "If there
is political will, a settlement is possible. I do understand that
this will be a very difficult decision for the presidents of both
countries, but it is evident that now is the right time to do that."

In its appeal to the Helsinki ministerial, Armenia urged OSCE countries
to prevent Azerbaijan`s ongoing build-up of armaments. Armenian Foreign
Minister Eduard Nalbandian expressed his disappointment with the tacit
support of most member states for what he described as Azerbaijan`s
intense military build-up.

Nalbandian warned the group that the weaponry Azerbaijan was purchasing
would be used in battle one day.

The minister also accused Azerbaijan of allegedly breaching the Moscow
declaration. "Azerbaijan constantly issues belligerent statements
which run counter to the declaration," he said and called on the OSCE
chairman to monitor Azerbaijani statements.

On the whole, however, the Armenian diplomat pointed to some progress
in negotiations with Azerbaijan following the signing of this document.

Baku reaffirms stance

The Azerbaijani delegation also distributed a document at the
OSCE ministers` meeting reaffirming Baku`s stance on the Garabagh
conflict. The paper, in English, entitled "The principles on a peaceful
settlement of the Upper Garabagh conflict," says Azerbaijan backs a
negotiated resolution of the conflict, but its territorial integrity
cannot be compromised under any circumstances and the country`s
borders are both non-negotiable and inviolable.

The document notes that the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities
of Upper Garabagh can co-exist peacefully. However, it calls for
the region`s integrity being restored strictly within Azerbaijan`s
borders. Further, it calls for displaced Azeris to be returned,
the withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from occupied Azerbaijani
territories and suitable conditions provided for cooperation.