OSCE CIO’S REGIONAL VISIT IS A USUAL PRACTICE

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
17.02.2010 15:56 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The visit of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Minister
of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Kanat Saudabayev to the South Caucasus
is a normal practice.

"Each OSCE presidency states about its priorities, Kazakhstan named the
Karabakh settlement as one of its priorities, though the conflict is
resolved within the framework of OSCE Minsk Group," Stepan Grigoryan,
head of Analytical Center on Globalization and Regional Cooperation
told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

According to Grigoryan, the visit of the OSCE CiO to the region to
get familiar with positions of conflicting parties is quite normal and
has also a historical context. "Initially, Kazakhstan was interested
in the Karabakh settlement", the expert said.

As Grigoryan mentioned, it is very good that Kazakhstan’s Foreign
Minister met not only with the leadership of the country, but with
representatives of all parliamentary political forces.

The armed conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke
out in 1998, as result of the ethnic cleansing the latter launched
in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought
from 1991 (when the Nagorno Karabakh Republic was proclaimed) to 1994
(when a ceasefire was sealed by Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan). Most
of Nagorno Karabakh and a security zone consisting of 7 regions is
now under control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are
holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.

The OSCE is the world’s largest regional security organization,
bringing comprehensive and co-operative security to a region that
stretches from Vancouver to Vladivostok. It offers a forum for
political negotiations and decision-making in the fields of early
warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict
rehabilitation, and puts the political will of the participating
States into practice through its unique network of field missions.

Armenia has been the OSCE member state since January 30, 1992.

Kazakhstan assumed chairmanship in the Organization on January 1, 2010.