US ANALYST PREDICTS CHANGES IN OSCE`S MEDIATING GROUP
AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
Aug 27 2008
The developments in Georgia have shown that cooperation between Russia
and the United States within the OSCE Minsk Group (MG), as a means
of resolving regional conflicts, is unrealistic, a Washington-based
international expert says.
The MG, co-chaired by Russia, the U.S. and France, has sought
to broker a settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno)
Garabagh conflict.
Zeyno Baran, director of the Center for Eurasian Policy at the
Hudson Institute, said the latest military action in Georgia would
substantially affect the positions of both Washington and Moscow in
the MG. She predicted that the MG would undergo changes this fall
after the presidential elections in the U.S.
Russia sent troops to South Ossetia and pounded Georgian positions
on August 8 after Tbilisi launched an offensive to retake the
self-proclaimed, pro-Russian region. A ceasefire was, subsequently,
reached to end five days of deadly fighting.
The Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry spokesman Khazar Ibrahim told the press
Monday that Russia`s estrangement from the OSCE MG is not on agenda.
He recalled that President Ilham Aliyev adheres to a clear-cut stance
on maintaining good neighborliness and friendship relations with the
country`s northern neighbor.
Ibrahim emphasized that Russia is not a party to the Garabagh
conflict. "Therefore, estranging it from co-chairmanship in the MG is
not under consideration. Azerbaijan continues to maintain neighborly
and friendly ties with both Russia and NATO."