Trend, Azerbaijan
Aug 13 2009
Replacement of two co-chairmen of OSCE Minsk Group to slightly affect
negotiating process on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
Azerbaijan, Baku, August 12 / Trend News E. Tariverdiyeva /
Replacement of two co-chairmen of OSCE Minsk Group mediating the
process of peaceful settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, can indirectly but slightly affect the
negotiation process, experts said.
"It is difficult to solve the Nagorno Karabakh problem by the only
acceptable peaceful way because time for new co-chairs to get
familiarize with the situation and go into action would slightly
affect the peace agreement. It will unlikely to be noticed in the
negotiation process," Russian expert on the CIS countries, Vladimir
Zharihin, said.
Russian and U.S co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group will be changed in
2009, Russian co-chairman Yuri Merzlyakov told Trend News.
"U.S co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group, Matthew Bryza, will pay his last
visit to the region as U.S co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group,"Merzlyakov
said over phone from Moscow.
He said that, he will also leave the post of co-chair this year.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan
lost all of Nagorno-Karabakh except for Shusha and Khojali in December
1991. In 1992-93, Armenian armed forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and 7
districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed
a ceasefire in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia,
France, and the U.S. – are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Observers said that replacement of two co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group will not greatly affect the negotiating process of parties. But
it will take some time for new diplomats to get familiarize with the
case.
A new process of strengthening trust between mediators and political
leaders will be launched after replacement of two co-chairs of the
OSCE Minsk Group. It will postpone achievement of a solid peace
process and further actions that might follow it , expert on the South
Caucasus, member of University of Coimbra, Simao told Trend News via
e-mail.
Armenian political scientist Richard Giragosian said that a direct
impact of changes on the negotiation process within the OSCE Minsk
Group is limited, because the process and format of the mission has
never formed, depending on the managerial abilities of concrete
individuals.
But it is important that both Bryza, has been working in the OSCE
Minsk Group as U.S co-chairman since 2006, and Russian Ambassador Yuri
Merzlyakov, served as a Russian co-chairman for seven years, leave
posts of co-chairs, he said.
Giragosian said that it will likely to impact indirectly on present
stage of relations.
"It will take some time for new U.S. and Russian representatives to
get familiarize with the presidents and the negotiating process
closely given presence of two new co-chairs of only three diplomats,
Director of the Armenian Center for National and International
Studies, Giragosian, told Trend News via e-mail.
Many observers think that replacement of diplomats in mediation format
can push process of peace settlement.
Azerbaijani political scientist Tofig Abbasov said that there is no
cause for anxiety concerning changes in staff of the co-chairs of the
OSCE Minsk Group.He said that replacement among three co-chairs will
not cause great slump, as there is no way to leave. But there is start
to move forward.
New diplomats will have to more seriously treat understanding and
implementation of the ideas of democracy, stabilization and
development in terms of unsolved Karabakh conflict, situation when
hundreds of thousands of displaced people are still waiting to return
to their native lands, when the blocked communication restrict
opportunities of regional nations, Abbasov said.
"Taking in account experience of M. Bryza, V. Merzlyakov, and others
who operated as the co-chairs of OSCE Minsk Group, would be
instructive for the new nominees, because realities they face is
obvious fact one should take into consideration and act ", expert of
analyst Leader-TV group, Abbasov, told Trend News.
Giragosian said that replacement of the co-chairs is another action
that will inevitably give a fresh spirit of the new political
foundation for the peace process, which has never been rather dynamic
and one of priority tasks.
Analysts said that the sides of the conflict have more responsibility
for settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict than countries-mediators.
Abbasov said that temporary closing-down of the conflict is not a
solution, but a self-deception fraught with failure of those who
volunteered to contribute to solve prolonged problem.
"Leaders of all sides of the Karabakh conflict, as always, will face
real test. Speaking more precisely, burden and responsibility will be
put on the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan", Giragosian said.
Zharihin said that there is no problem with replacement of the
co-chairs. The problem concerns Nagorno-Karabakh and willingness of
each party to pass its way towards a compromise necessary for a
peaceful solving of the problem.
"Moreover, there are minimal contradictions between
countries-co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and ways of this problem
solving as opposed to many other similar conflicts," deputy director
of Institute of CIS countries, Zharihin, to Trend News by phone from
Moscow.
Both the USA and Russia are interested in solving this problem. They
have almost the same ways of its solving, Zharihin said.
E. Ostapenko contributed in the article.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress