RICHARD GIRAGOSYAN: THE OSCE NEEDS TO INVOLVE KARABAKH IN THE TALKS
Anna Nazaryan
"Radiolur"
11.05.2010 16:09
Sixteen years ago Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh singed
a ceasefire agreement, which is maintained until now, although the
Azerbaijani armed forces periodically violate the truce. Although
the situation at the contact line is stable, the recent shots from
the Azerbaijani side evidence that that country is not committed to
solving the conflict is a peaceful way, political analyst David Babayan
says. Head of the Armenian Center for National and International
Studies (ACNIS) Richard Giragosian is assured that it’s because of
the weakness of the OSCE that Azerbaijan refuses to pull back the
snipers from the line of contact.
At the 2008 OSCE Ministerial Council in Helsinki the Co-Chairs of the
OSCE Minsk Group called on the parties to withdraw the snipers form
the contact line. However, official Baku neglects the proposal, which,
according to David Babayan, complicates the process of settlement of
the Karabakh conflict.
"This shows that Azerbaijan is not interested in the settlement of
the conflict. On the contrary, it creates tension and jeopardizes
the regional stability," David Babayan said.
The weakness of the OSCE is the reason why Azerbaijan refuses to
pull back its snipers form the contact line, according to Richard
Giragosian.
"Azerbaijan always interferes with in the OSCE’s basic mission to
monitor the frontline and to ensure that both sides are maintaining
the ceasefire agreement. But the OSCE is both week and unprepared,
it has to request and beg permission from Azerbaijan simply to carry
out monitoring. This reveals the weakness within the OSCE," Richard
Giragosian said, adding that the OSCE needs to enforce the ceasefire
monitoring in a stronger way, and diplomatically needs to include
Nagorno Karabakh as a party to the conflict. "For the OSCE to become
stronger in any sense, they need to include Nagorno Karabakh in the
talks on the same level with Baku and Yerevan.
ACNIS is concerned about the fact that Azerbaijan’s political position
poses a threat to regional security and stability. "This is something
the international community should address more and better," he said.
"Azerbaijan is still many years away from becoming as strong as the
Armenian military is today. But what we see is that Azerbaijan is doing
everything to threaten everyone in the region. In other words, although
Azerbaijan knows it cannot win a war over Nagorno Karabakh, just the
fact that it constantly threatens war and uses the aggressive language
reveals that Azerbaijan is on a dangerous course," Giragosian said.
Well aware of its weakness, Azerbaijan is trying to involve Turkey
in the process. Turkey failed to tie the Karabakh issue to the
Armenian-Turkish process and thus help its younger brother, and now
Mevlut Cavusoglu is going to form a commission on Karabakh within
the OSCE, and Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan intends to discuss the
issue with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.