SERGEY KAPINOS’ PREDICTION ON ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROCESS PESSIMISTIC

Noyan Tapan
March 15, 2010

YEREVAN, MARCH 15, NOYAN TAPAN. The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is not
engaged in the issue of Nagorno Karabakh settlement, it is the OSCE
Minsk Group that is engaged in it. Head of the OSCE Yerevan Office,
Ambassador Sergey Kapinos said at a March 15 meeting with journalists
commenting upon the statement made by OSCE PA representative lately
in Yerevan, according to which, the two RA Presidents were from
Karabakh therefore they simultaneously protected the interests
of Armenia and Karabakh. S. Kapinos emphasized that Karabakh was
a conflict side at the initial stages of the conflict settlement:
in particular, in 1994 Karabakh’s representative signed an agreement
on ceasefire. However, later the RA President being from Karabakh by
origin also protected Karabakh’s interests, and Karabakh ceased to
be a side in the negotiations process. Nevertheless the Ambassador
considers that the final stage of problem’s settlement cannot take
place without Karabakh’s participation.

S. Kapinos considers improbable change of the format of the structure
engaged in the Nagorno Karabakh settlement. The Minsk Group format
is balanced and optimal and breaking the already established format
would be dangerous, which can result in unpredictable changes in the
negotiations process.

In response to a journalist’s question of how he treats Bako Sahakian’s
recent statement to settle the conflict on the basis of legal documents
S. Kapinos stated that they had better "use old and tested means
of settlement."

S. Kapinos’ prediction on the Armenian-Turkish process is pessimistic
because of the developments that emerged in Turkey in consequence of
the well-known decisions of U.S. House of Representatives Committee
on Foreign Affairs and parliament of Sweden. Nevertheless, according
to him, it does not mean that no events will take place that will
give a positive spirit to the process.