MEDIATORS PRESS ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN TO SEAL KARABAKH DEAL

Asbarez
Dec 1st, 2009

S Deputy Secretary General James Steinberg listens as Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) speaks at the 17th OSCE Ministerial council
in Athens on Dec. 1, 2009

ATHENS (RFE/RL)-The United States, Russia and France on Tuesday
renewed their calls for Armenia and Azerbaijan to iron out their
remaining disagreements over a framework agreement to resolve the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The three nations spearheading the Karabakh peace process urged the
conflicting parties to "complete this work as soon as possible" at
the end of a two-day flurry of Karabakh-related diplomatic activity
on the sidelines of an OSCE ministerial conference in Athens.

Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian and his Azerbaijani counterpart
Elmar Mammadyarov held talks there on Monday and Tuesday in addition to
separate meetings with senior American, French and Russian diplomats
co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group. They were joined later on Tuesday
by Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov of Russia and Bernard Kouchner of
France and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg.

In an ensuing joint statement read out by Lavrov, the five men noted
the current "positive dynamic" in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks.

"They agreed that the increasing frequency of these meetings has
significantly contributed to an enhanced dialogue between the parties
and forward movement toward finalizing the Basic Principles for the
Peaceful Settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, proposed in
Madrid on November 29, 2007," read the statement.

The statement said Nalbandian and Mammadyarov reaffirmed their
countries’ stated "commitment to work intensively to resolve the
remaining issues" and cut a framework deal based on the internationally
recognized principles of non-use of force or threat of force,
territorial integrity and self-determination of peoples.

Earlier in the day, the European Union called for an "appropriate
combination" of these principles through Foreign Minister Carl Bildt of
Sweden, the current holder of the EU presidency. "We call again upon
Armenia and Azerbaijan to take the necessary decisions to achieve a
breakthrough with the endorsement of the Basic Principles proposed
in Madrid on November 29, 2007," Bildt told the OSCE conference.

Kouchner also mentioned the Karabakh conflict in his speech at the
gathering, speaking of "significant progress" in the negotiating
process. "Now is the time to make decisions and I exhort the two
parties to seize upon the chance offered to them and finalize,
without delay, the principles of settlement proposed to them," he said.

Both Nalbandian and Mammadyarov stressed the importance of the
five-party statement. The Armenian minister emphasized the fact that
Azerbaijan signed up to the principle of self-determination that has
long been championed by the Armenian side.

"I hope that there will also be a statement by the ministerial
conference," Nalbandian told journalists. "I hope it too will mention
these three principles of non-use of force or threat of its use,
self-determination and territorial integrity which we have pointed
out for months."

"Of course this is not yet a solution to the problem," he added.

"These are only the main principles that will form the basis of
negotiations aimed at bringing the parties’ positions on the principles
contained in the Madrid document closer to each other."

"The more intensive the negotiating process is, the more points of
convergence could be found," Mammadyarov said for his part. "That
is very useful for pushing forward negotiations and approaching the
completion of discussions of the basic principles and the subsequent
signing of a comprehensive peace accord."

Neither minister would be drawn on possible time frames for
finalizing the basic principles that envisage a gradual resolution
of the conflict. Nor did they mention the possibility of yet another
meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in the coming weeks.

The two leaders have held six face-to-face meetings this year.

According to the mediators, they made progress "in some areas" at
their last talks held in Munich on November 22.

OSCE Minsk Group Statement

The Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group, Foreign Minister
of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Minister of France
Bernard Kouchner, and Deputy Secretary of State of the United States
James Steinberg, released the following statement on Tuesday:

The Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries,
Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov, Foreign
Minister of France Bernard Kouchner, and Deputy Secretary of State of
the United States James Steinberg met in Athens on December 1 with
the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov and Foreign
Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian.

The five Heads of Delegation recalled the commitments in the November
2008 Moscow Declaration and the December 2008 Helsinki OSCE Ministerial
Statement. They noted the positive dynamic in the talks, demonstrated
through six meetings this year between the Presidents of Armenia
and Azerbaijan. They agreed that the increasing frequency of these
meetings has significantly contributed to an enhanced dialogue between
the parties and forward movement toward finalizing the Basic Principles
for the Peaceful Settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, proposed
in Madrid on November 29, 2007.

Foreign Ministers Lavrov and Kouchner and Deputy Secretary Steinberg
reiterated the commitment of their countries, as expressed in the Joint
Statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at the L’Aquila Summit of
the Eight on July 10, issued by their three Presidents, to support the
leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan as they complete work on the Basic
Principles and urged that the parties complete this work as soon as
possible. They stressed that agreement on the Basic Principles would
provide the framework for a comprehensive settlement to promote a
future of peace, stability, and prosperity for the entire region.

The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan reported on progress
during the course of this year in achieving common understandings on
points of the Basic Principles. They stated the willingness of their
countries to complete work on the Basic Principles, as stipulated by
the Presidents of the Co-Chair countries at L’Aquila. The Ministers
reaffirmed their commitment to work intensively to resolve the
remaining issues, to reach an agreement based, in particular, upon
the principles of the Helsinki Final Act of Non-Use of Force or
Threat of Force, Territorial Integrity, and the Equal Rights and
Self-Determination of Peoples.