AZERI EXPERTS SUPPORT IDEA OF CHANGING KARABAKH MEDIATORS
Yeni Musavat
March 27 2008
Azerbaijan
Official Baku’s position on changing the OSCE Minsk Group Karabakh
mediators has caused "a serious uproar", the Azerbaijani opposition
Yeni Musavat newspaper reported on 27 March.
"If Azerbaijan has taken this step, then it should only be welcomed.
Nothing will change with the current format if [the co-chairs] visit
[to the region] even for 150 years," political analyst Vafa Quluzada
told the paper.
Quluzada believes that the only mediating country satisfying
Azerbaijan’s interests today is the USA, the paper reported.
"If Azerbaijan has turned to the OSCE Secretariat with an appeal
after consultations with the USA, then it would take a very useful
step. Because the work of the Minsk Group with this composition is
impossible from now on," Quluzada said.
The expert thinks that Russia has no moral right to remain in the
group as "Russia has taken an active part in occupying our territories
and arming secretly and openly Armenia". He stressed the presence
of a military agreement between Armenia and Russia, adding that as
"Russia supports separatism", this is the main obstacle to the
problem’s solution.
"Russia may be exposed after the composition changes. It is impossible
to do this when Russia is in the OSCE Minsk Group. We can at least
get rid of this hypocritical position," Quluzada added.
Speaking about France’s role in the group, Quluzada said that the
French presence in the group as a mediator is pointless as "[late
President] Heydar Aliyev personally fought seriously against France
being a co-chair formerly. Paris suddenly became a co-chair by
skilfully deceiving everybody".
He added that the Azerbaijani government should immediately start
serious consultations with the USA and Turkey and think about a
new format.
Another political expert Arif Yunus said that the demand concerning
the change of format promises Azerbaijan no problem.
"On the contrary, we will only win from this," Yunus said. The expert
thinks that Russia and France are not objective in their positions.
"Therefore, one of them should either leave the group or any
other country sticking to a completely neutral position should be
included… Let Germany or the UK be a co-chair," he said.
On 26 March, Yeni Musavat quoted US co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk
Group Matthew Bryza as telling the New York-based Armenian Reporter
newspaper that Azerbaijan has turned to the OSCE Secretariat over
the change of the Minsk Group’s composition.
In an interview with Azadliq on 27 March, the deputy chairman of
the Musavat Party, Arif Hacili, said that the recent Azeri-sponsored
resolution on the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, which was adopted at the
UN General Assembly, is a "step back". The OSCE Karabakh mediators –
USA, Russia and France voted against the document.
"The Azerbaijani government had better be involved in the resolution
of the Karabakh problem rather than fall into euphoria. The attitude
of the three mediating countries to Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity
can in no way be accepted," Hacili said.
BBCM Note: The UN General Assembly approved the resolution on 14
March by 39 votes to seven, with 100 countries abstained from voting.
From: Baghdasarian