BAKU ADMITS NAGORNO-KARABAKH IS SIDE TO THE CONFLICT

Information-Analytic Agency NEWS.am
Aug 26 2009
Armenia

22:56 / 08/25/2009Our Arezi counterparts and their much beloved
local political analysts finished "badly". Showing zeal for arguing
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) is not and cannot be a party to the
negotiation process, they recognized NKR as side to the conflict.

"Nowhere, not at a single meeting Karabakhi separatists were a
party to negotiations but were considered only as a side to the
conflict," said a close to Azeri authorities, political analyst
Rasim Musabekov. Besides, he mentioned that representative of NKR
has signed a peace agreement — an indisputable fact that many in
Baku want to forget.

"I remember very well this initial stage in the negotiations of
1993-1994 as I myself was directly involved I them. Nobody considered
representatives of NKR as parties to negotiations. Yes, they have
signed the documents during the peace agreement, but only as a side
to the conflict," Musabekov made a miss as good as a mile braking
the standards of Azeri state-propaganda machine.

A question raises here: if Baku recognizes Karabakh as a side to
the conflict then, how it can be resolved without Stepanakert at
the negotiation table? There is nothing as wrong and crude as when
one fights and then others sign the peace agreement. Definitely,
agreements will be prospective only with involvement of all parties
to the conflict. And not even Baku admits Nagorno-Karabakh is one.

There is concern about responsibility of Armenian authorities of
1998-2008 for letting NKR out of the negotiation process. People in
the two Armenian states (Artsakh and Armenia) rebuke those authorities
for doing so. Even those political forces that supported RA Former
President Robert Kocharyan’s intention to present both Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh at the negotiations – even they now have changed
their minds. The both countries realized that that was a wrong policy
and now want to see KNR back at the negotiation table. OSCE Minsk
Group Co-Chairs also admit at some stage NKR authorities will join
negotiating parties.

Activation of talks and inevitable involvement of Nagorno-Karabakh
in them make Azeri political analysts go off into hysterics.