MEDIATOR SEES FAVORABLE CLIMATE FOR GARABAGH SETTLEMENT

AzerNews Weekly
March 4 2009
Azerbaijan

An unbiased environment has been created for settling the
Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict, an international
mediator has said.

The statement by Yury Merzlyakov, the Russian co-chairman of the
OSCE Minsk Group brokering a settlement to the long-standing dispute,
came following a meeting with the leader of the self-proclaimed Upper
Garabagh republic, Bako Saakian, on Sunday.

With regard to possible advances in the peace process in 2009,
Merzlyakov said it was always challenging to make tentative projections
and that he could not conclude what would exactly happen this year. He
added that "under subjective conditions, the political will of the
sides was necessary at times for the adoption of complicated but
important decisions."

The mediator said the co-chairs had informed the leaders of the
separatist regime that they saw new opportunities for moving the
peace process forward after the latest meetings of the Azerbaijani
and Armenian presidents.

"We shared our impressions and presumptions and are very pleased that
they were heard and understood," he said.

Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sarkisian last met in Zurich on
January 28. The two held a one-on-one meeting, followed by talks
attended by the foreign ministers and the Minsk Group co-chairs. The
over two-hour meeting was described as constructive, but no
comprehensive information was released.

The Russian Interfax news agency quoted a source from the office of
the self-proclaimed republic`s leader as saying that Saakian had
once again reiterated his position at the meeting regarding the
participation of Upper Garabagh in peace talks as a party.

The co-chairmen had begun a visit to the region in Baku
on Thursday. After holding talks with President Ilham Aliyev
and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, they headed to Yerevan,
where they discussed Garabagh settlement with Armenian President
Serzh Sarkisian and Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian, as well as
Khankandi, an Azeri town turned by Armenians into the center of the
self-proclaimed republic. They returned to Baku on Tuesday.

The co-chairs told reporters in the Azerbaijani capital that
the meetings held with Armenian officials were very positive and
significant. Bernard Fassier, the French co-chairman, said the
intermediaries would table the outcomes of the talks held in Yerevan
in Baku.

"We sensed good will from both sides. During our visit to Armenia,
discussions were held on [arranging the next] meeting of the
Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents. We now plan to discuss the
results of the meetings we had in Yerevan with President Aliyev."

Fassier noted that whether or not the leaders` meeting would take
place and its timing would be determined after discussions with
President Aliyev later in the day.

US mediator Matthew Bryza said the talks were challenging but very
important meetings had been held. "There used to be a threat to peace
talks, but, luckily, the negotiating process continues."

Armenia and Azerbaijan waged a war in the early 1990s, which claimed
some 30,000 lives and displaced about one million Azerbaijanis. Armenia
has been occupying over 20% of Azerbaijan`s internationally-recognized
territory since then. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but
Armenian armed forces have been persistently breaching the ceasefire
on the frontline.