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Analysis: Bryza As Ambassador To Azerbaijan Bodes Ill For NKR Self-D

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  • Analysis: Bryza As Ambassador To Azerbaijan Bodes Ill For NKR Self-D

    ANALYSIS: BRYZA AS AMBASSADOR TO AZERBAIJAN BODES ILL FOR NKR SELF-DETERMINATION
    Aris Ghazinyan

    ArmeniaNow reporter
    29.07.10

    Matthew Bryza, an Obama pick for a diplomatic posting in Baku, was
    put on the defensive during recent Senate hearings.

    The prospect of former OSCE Minsk Group mediator on the Karabakh issue
    settlement Matthew Bryza's possible appointment as the US Ambassador
    to Azerbaijan has become one of the most discussed subjects in Armenia.

    The main issue in this connection is: how can Ambassador Bryza impact
    the negotiation process considering his close relations with Turkey's
    and Azerbaijan's political circles and his kindred relations with a
    famous Turkish family?

    The recent hearings at the US Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs
    during which Bryza, as the nominee for US Ambassador in Azerbaijan,
    was asked impartial questions related to his partial position on the
    Karabakh issue settlement, have made this issue more urgent.

    On June 20 the Washington Times published an article citing the
    concerns voiced by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
    over Bryza's close relations with Azerbaijani and Turkish political
    circles and fuel-communication companies.

    Bryza has many levers of influence on the region, and regardless of his
    mission - Minsk Group (MG) mediator or US Ambassador to Azerbaijan -
    he is a constant presence in the South Caucasus, and has been for
    many years.

    As deputy head of the US State Department's office of Europe and
    Eurasia and deputy assistant to the Secretary of State he has
    constantly worked with Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

    During the Senate hearings, Senator Robert Menendez reminded him
    that the US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans was released of his
    duties after using the phrase "Armenian Genocide". "What was your
    role in firing Evans" he asked Bryza, who, in response, said he had
    no involvement in that issue.

    Bryza was also asked the reasons for his firm conviction that
    Nagorno-Karabakh has to be part of Azerbaijan.

    Right from the moment of his appointment as MG mediator Bryza lobbied
    this option, and in his interview to the BBC he candidly said
    the principle of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity was dominant
    over all other principles, including that of nations' right to
    self-determination.

    Senator Menendez asked Bryza: "Isn't the principle of national
    self-determination among the most important principles in America's
    policy?"

    Bryza did not give a direct answer to that question, and made a
    reference to the position of the then Vice-President Dick Cheney
    saying that earlier, even before his interview to the BBC, Cheney
    said in Baku that the settlement of this conflict had to meet the
    principles of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.

    Bryza marked his joining the OCSE MG in 2005 by presenting the
    so-called Framework Agreement, which, as he said, "calls for the
    withdrawal of the Armenian troops from those territories of Azerbaijan
    where they are currently quartered".

    It was during the time period of Bryza's mission as a mediator that
    the Madrid Principles came up, providing for a new status to Nagorno
    Karabakh, but only under the condition of being an indispensable part
    of Azerbaijan. That was in November, 2007.

    "If we recognize the independence of this or that territorial unit
    every time the issue of self-determination is raised, the other norm
    of the Helsinki Act will be violated - the principle of territorial
    integrity," stated Bryza back then.

    Bryza's appearance at OSCE MG activated the operation of the
    International Crisis Group (ICG): the recommendations of this group
    often influence the final decisions on this or that issue.

    "As Deputy Secretary of State I often used the ICG products. Reports
    compiled by this group and their analytical researches, as a rule,
    had the kind of information that was impossible to receive from other
    sources. So, no wonder their recommendations played their part in
    the process of making final political decisions," said Strobe Talbott.

    With Bryza's appointment as the American co-chair of Minsk Group the
    ICG reports grew more and more rigorous and unambiguous.

    In September, 2005, ICG made public the report text on Nagorno
    Karabakh, which said in part: "Nagorno Karabakh wants independence
    and grounds its capacity to build a sovereign state by having a
    democratically elected government in accordance to the terms and
    standards of statehood. However, from the international perspective
    Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan... Nagorno Karabakh is one of the most
    militarized communities on earth."

    It was this report that prompted the Azeri authorities to start making
    more radical appeals, and, what's important is that Bryza never once
    criticized Azerbaijan's bellicose rhetoric.

    Bryza's constant presence in the region (now as the US Ambassador to
    Azerbaijan) will result in an even more active work of the Crisis
    Group, the position of which is based on the condition of Nagorno
    Karabakh being part of Azerbaijan.




    From: A. Papazian
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