OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs: Presidents’ meeting in St Petersburg could become historical turning point
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
June 6 2007
Azerbaijan and Armenian Presidents will meet in St Petersburg on
the eve of informal summit of CIS heads of state. On this occasion
the co-chairs are visiting the region. The meetings in Baku were
very intensive.
We held intensive but constructive meetings at the Foreign Ministry
and President’s Office. We determined the issues to be discussed in
the meeting of the Presidents in St Petersburg," Russian co-chair of
OSCE Minsk Group Yuri Merzlyakov told a press conference in Russian
Embassy in Azerbaijan, APA reports.
"There remained little number of unsettled issues. Baku meetings
created hope that the meeting of the Presidents will be a constructive
and significant event".
French Co-chair Bernar Fassier said he hoped that Yerevan meetings
will be as constructive as that of Baku. US co-chair Matthew Bryza
hoped that St Petersburg meeting can be constructive "We hope that
St Petersburg meeting will be a turning point. Even step by step we
achieved to raise the number of discrepancies. Bu there is still much
work to be done".
Answering questions of journalists, Bernard Fassier said if there is
a turning point in the negotiations, the co-chairs will be optimistic
on the settlement of the conflict. "The turning point can happen that
time if the presidents instruct their Foreign Ministers to draft
a peace agreement on the conflict. Besides, for achieving turning
point the peace agreement needs basic principles to be clarified. We
debated some basic principles in Rambouillet.
We increased this number in Bucharest and Minsk. If we can increase
the number of basic principles on the settlement of the conflict in
St. Petersburg it will be good.
Yuri Merzlyakov commenting on a peace agreement stated that the
parties to the conflict should take into consideration that peace
agreement would not completely satisfy both parties.
"Since we speak about a fair peace agreement, then the parties should
take into consideration that only 50% might be achieved. Any agreement
is a compromise," he said.
Bernard Fassier said that the parties should be ready to compromise.
"Both peoples should be prepared to compromise. The peoples should
also be prepared for peace," he said.
Matthew Bryza touching on the status of Nagorno Karabakh said that
co-chairs have proposed to determine the status by vote.
"We proposed that the status of Nagorno Karabakh be defined by vote.
The sides should define where voting should be conducted. OSCE Minsk
Group can not define how to call this voting. The Presidents are
responsible for that," he said.