TURKEY’S KARABAKH MEDIATION ‘INEFFECTIVE’
news.az
May 7 2010
Azerbaijan
Novruz Mammadov A senior Azerbaijani official has said that Turkey’s
attempts to mediate in the Karabakh conflict have not been fruitful
so far.
Novruz Mammadov, head of the International Relations Department at
the Presidential Administration, commented yesterday on the Karabakh
settlement process, following a meeting of the OSCE Minsk Group
mediators in Vienna.
He said that Turkey’s attempt to help find a solution to the Karabakh
conflict had proved ineffective. On the other hand, if Armenia’s hopes
for the opening of the border with Turkey were not met, Mammadov said,
their position would soften and this might promote progress in the
conflict settlement.
The Minsk Group co-chairs said in a statement after the Vienna talks
that the sides to the conflict were committed to a resolution based
on what are known as the Madrid principles.
Mammadov, however, repeated Baku’s view that Armenia was not clearly
voicing its stance on the Madrid principles in order to draw out a
solution to the conflict.
‘There is no problem with our position – we have already voiced it.
President Ilham Aliyev made his position clear; he is sticking to it
and the world knows this. The co-chairs and leaders of the countries
they represent also know our position. On the other hand, we have
"expectations" that they must justify – that is recommend some steps
in the negotiations with Armenia,’ Novruz Mammadov said.
Mammadov said Armenia was drawing out the process. The Madrid
principles were proposed two months before the presidential meeting
in Sochi, but Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan deliberately came to
Sochi unprepared. He asked for two weeks to express their position
on the new proposals.
‘Unfortunately, this did not happen in Sochi. Despite strained
negotiations, Armenia has not expressed its position. And the
atmosphere there allowed them to take time to study proposals
and express the position. At that time, Armenia asked for two
weeks. Now we see that it was their latest trick. Since that time
the co-chairs have been working and visiting the region but they have
not proposed anything definite. This may occur in the near future,’
the representative of the presidential administration said.
Mammadov said the document on the negotiating table,the updated
Madrid principles, envisaged the liberation of the occupied land, the
clearing of the territory of landmines, the provision of permanent
places of residence for refugees and internally displaced persons,
the settlement of the Lachin corridor connecting Karabakh to Armenia,
the return of refugees to Karabakh and, finally, the determination
of the status of Karabakh.
However, Armenia’s position is far from being constructive, Mammadov
said. Nevertheless, he expected progress to be made.
‘I think there are grounds to expect progress by the end of the year.
It is necessary to start a phased solution. The return of refugees
is not a matter of a month or a year. This has to be a radical process.
The Armenians can want more. Armenia is concerned only with the
negotiating process itself. They do not think about the future of
the people, they are concerned with the preservation of power at this
time. I was told this by sources abroad. For this reason, we expect
progress this year,’ Mammadov said.
He said that the international community and leaders of the co-chairing
states should put pressure on Armenia to try to settle the issue.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress