NAP: DELAYS IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT CREATE DANGEROUS SITUATION

Trend
March 12 2010
Azerbaijan

Delays in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict create a dangerous situation
and there is a risk that it could lead to great wars, Deputy Executive
Secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (NAP), MP Mubariz Gurbanli
, believes.

"All this has forced OSCE to act. Visit of the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly President and the OSCE Special Representative for the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem to the region is a result of this intensive
diplomacy," he told to the NAP’s official web site.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. –
are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the
occupied territories.

There is an increasing intensity in the negotiation process on the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "It is not accidental. These all base on
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s policy that has a flexible and
aggressive character. Of course, OSCE, which is required to comply
with mediation in the settlement of the conflict, observed Aliyev’s
recent statement on changing the status quo," he added.

The Azerbaijani representatives support the relevance of this issue
at all OSCE activities. "These visits are important in terms of a
detailed study of the situation in the region in connection with the
conflict by OSCE official," he said.

Recalling the statement of special representative Goran Lennmarker that
"the Karabakh issue should be resolved soon, otherwise this conflict
can lead to large-scale war in the region, Gurbanli said that it is
in the nature of prevention."Breach of peace in the region and the
beginning of the war opposes the OSCE basic principles and in general,
does not correspond to the steps taken towards establishing peace and
security worldwide. The international community should take serious
steps to stop the aggressive policy of Armenia," he noted.

NAP was established by the chairman of the Supreme Majlis of Nakhchivan
Heydar Aliyev in 1992. The current President Ilham Aliyev is the
chairman of the Party which has been ruling for already 17 years.