New OSCE MG suggestions unrelated to Azeri offers in Kazan, analyst says

July 1, 2011 – 20:03 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – New offers to be submitted by OSCE MG co-chairs to
conflicting parties do not refer to Azerbaijan’s suggestions advanced
at Kazan meeting, CIS States Institute’s Yerevan subsidiary director
stated.

In a conversation with a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, political analyst
Alexander Markarov commented on French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe’s
statement suggesting additional offers to achieve agreement on
Karabakh issue will be submitted to conflicting parties.

`Were the offers coordinated by the co-chairs they would’ve been
included in June 24 negotiation package,’ he remarked.

Markarov disagreed with the suggestion that France is attempting to
assume leadership among mediators in Karabakh issue talks. `Although
Russia was the locomotive in the negotiations, the country closely
contacted with the other mediators, always presenting a coordinated
position during talks,’ the analyst stressed.

The summit between Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia in Kazan on June 24
completed without an agreement on basic principles of Nagorno Karabakh
conflict settlement. `The countries’ leaders registered mutual
understanding on a range of problems, the resolution of which boosts
creation of conditions for approving main principles. The meeting
participants considered the course of works carried out with the aim
of coordination of the project with basic principles,’ according to
the statement. The Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan expressed
gratitude to the Russian, French and U.S. leaders, the OSCE Minsk
group co-chairs, for `their constant attention to Nagorno-Karabakh
problem’ and highly praised personal efforts of the Russian President
in support of agreements.

Later on Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian noted that the
June 24 meeting was not a breakthrough, as Azerbaijan proved unready
to accept the final version of the basic principles suggested by the
OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs. Instead, the Azerbaijani leader attempted
to impose 10 new proposals, thus precluding the possibility of any
agreement on the issue,’ he added.