MATTHEW BRYZA SAYS NAGORNY KARABAKH WILL PARTICIPATE IN NEGOTIATIONS ‘SOONER RATHER THAN LATER’
ArmInfo
2009-07-27 14:26:00
ArmInfo. A senior United States representative mediating the ongoing
peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh
dispute has said that "the Karabakhi Armenian representatives were at
the [negotiating] table until a few years ago when the Armenian side,
Yerevan, decided to represent them."
Matthew Bryza, who jointly with representatives from Russia and France
chairs the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s
(OSCE) Minsk Group, told RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service, however, that
the Karabakhi authorities still "need to participate directly in the
negotiations" at some point and expressed a hope that this will happen
"sooner rather than later".
But the diplomat stressed there is a discussion that "has to ensue
among the parties and they have to come to a mutual agreement." "To
bring them [Karabakhi authorities] back in, there needs to be a mutual
agreement, and we hope that will be forthcoming," said Bryza. "They do
participate indirectly now. We listen what their opinions are. We, of
course, have to incorporate those views into the negotiations because
if you don’t, it’s impossible to get people who will be affected by
the solution to accept it.
So, they have to accept it in the end." At the same time, Bryza called
it "not constructive or accurate" to talk about one side or the other
taking ‘the first step’ after an agreement is finalized.
"The basic principles call for both sides to take steps simultaneously
and there is a sequence of steps that both sides will take at
different times.
So, everything has to be done together, with both sides," he said.
Bryza recalled Ilham Aliev’s statement made in Moscow in early July
in which the Azerbaijani leader foresaw that once the final peace
agreement was signed, five territories would be returned to Azerbaijan
immediately and two would be returned later. "So, what he [Aliev]
is laying out there is that there would be this immediate return
of territories, but some would come back later. At the same time,
Azerbaijan will be taking steps also, which includes this commentary
about the corridor, and he’s made some allusions or suggestions about
status, and we, the co- chair countries, talked about an interim
status for Karabakh. So, all that has to happen at the same time.
Even though elements of the overall process will be implemented in
a staged way."