OBAMA RECOGNIZES NAGORNO-KARABAKH AS A PARTY TO CAUCASUS CONFLICT
Armen Hareyan

HULIQ.com

June 24 2011
SC

On the eve of a meeting between the presidents of Armenia and
Azerbaijan aimed at settling a long-running territorial conflict,
President Barack Obama stated that the “people of Nagorno-Karabakh”
had an independent interest in the dispute and a right to
self-determination.

Obama made a phone call on June 23 to both Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Speaking with the
two leaders ahead of a crucial meeting in the Russian city of Kazan,
hosted by Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, Obama called on the two
leaders to resolve the conflict and provide a better future for the
people of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh.

“President Obama told both leaders that now is the time to resolve
this conflict and to offer the people of Armenia, Azerbaijan,
and Nagorno-Karabakh a better future for themselves and for their
children. The United States will continue to support both leaders
and the Minsk Group Co-Chairs in their important efforts to advance
security and prosperity in the region,” the White House said in a
readout of President Obama’s call with Sargsian and Aliyev.

Similar calls have been made by the mediator countries before, but
this was the first time that any world leader publicly recognized
Nagorno-Karabakh as an equal party to the conflict.

Although it signed a ceasefire with Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh
in 1994, Azerbaijan has refused to negotiate with Nagorno Karabakh,
calling its government an illegitimate separatist movement.

Nagorno-Karabakh asserts that it is struggling for its people’s right
to self-determination to preserve their identity.

Earlier that day, Aliyev spoiled the positive mood ahead of the
meeting in Kazan by offering limited autonomy to Nagorno-Karabakh,
rejecting its right to full self-determination and threatening Armenia
and Karabakh indirectly by speaking about his country’s growing
military might. Sargsyan responded by saying his country will not
make unilateral concessions, especially not under threat. Instead,
Sargsyan said the Basic Principles, mentioned in Obama’s message,
“are the foundations on which we continue the negotiations and find
a solution to the problem.”

President Obama strongly encouraged the two presidents “to finalize
and endorse the Basic Principles” during their meeting on June 24. He
also sent a strong message ahead of the meeting by recognizing
Nagorno-Karabakh’s right to self-determination and calling on the
leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to offer “the people of Armenia,
Azerbaijan, and Nagorno-Karabakh a better future for themselves.”

Two things here stand out clearly. First, Nagorno-Karabakh has been
recognized as a separate, third party in the conflict, in contrast
to the situation for the past several years. Second is the phrase
“better future for themselves.” The message here is that it is
the people themselves who must choose their own future, not the
authorities in Baku, who have refused to recognize Karabakh’s right
to full self-determination.

A breakthrough is expected this evening in Kazan. If all goes well,
a major source of distress and instability may be on its way to final
settlement, providing a better future for the people of Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh.