PROGRESS MADE IN AZERBAIJAN-ARMENIA TALKS, SAYS OSCE
Hurriyet Daily News
Nov 23 2009
Turkey
Progress is made at talks between the presidents of Armenia and
Azerbaijan on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but difficulties are also
identified, mediators say. The meeting comes a day after Azerbaijani
leader raised the stakes warning that the meeting will be ‘decisive’
and that Azerbaijan’s military is ready to take back the region
by force In what have been called "last-chance" peace talks, the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan are said to have made important
progress over the disputed Azerbaijani enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Despite Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev raising the stakes
beforehand by threatening to take the region back by military force,
international mediators in Munich appeared upbeat.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE,
said a weekend meeting between Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart
Serge Sarkisian produced progress but no solution to the dispute over
the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, according to a report by The Associated
Press. The four-hour meeting in Munich was the group’s sixth this year.
The OSCE said in a statement Monday that the two presidents discussed
proposals put forward by Russian, French and American co-chairs of
the so-called Minsk Group.
"In some areas progress was made. At the same time, some issues still
remain open," the OSCE said. Both presidents left without talking
to reporters.
OSCE mediator, Robert Bradtke said he was impressed. "I think today
what was impressive was the way the two presidents worked with us,
the depths of their discussion, the seriousness of the discussion,
their willingness to discuss points that are quite difficult and
controversial," Euronews television channel quoted Bradtke as saying.
"Some important progress has been reached," French mediator Bernard
Fassier told reporters. "At the same time, we have identified some
difficulties." He said he and his co-mediators from the United States
and Russia would start work on preparing the next meeting, without
specifying when it might take place.
Hours before the key summit in Munich, Aliyev said his nation
may resort to military force if talks with Armenia on resolving a
long-standing territorial dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region
produced no results. He said the talks were in the final hopes of
settling the dispute peacefully.
"If that meeting fails to produce results, our hopes for negotiations
will vanish," Aliyev said during a meeting with Azerbaijani refugees
from Nagorno-Karabakh on Saturday.
Nagorno-Karabakh is an enclave in Azerbaijan that has been occupied
by Armenian forces since the end of a six-year conflict that left
about 30,000 people dead and displaced 1 million before a truce was
reached in 1994. Its unilateral independence is not recognized by
the international community.
Aliyev said Azerbaijan wants a peaceful settlement but will not wait
indefinitely. "We have the right to free our land using military
force," he said in comments broadcasted on Azeri TV. There was no
immediate comment from Armenia’s government.
Aliyev has repeatedly made similar threats in the past. His latest
statement could be aimed at encouraging Azerbaijanis, who are concerned
that Turkey’s move last month to normalize ties with Armenia could ruin
hopes for regaining control over Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey has assured
its ally Azerbaijan that it would continue supporting Azerbaijan in
the dispute.
Any reopening of the crossing should run parallel with resolving the
dispute over the mountainous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, Turkish
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said after he inked a historic
diplomatic deal with his Armenian counterpart in October.