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BAKU: Azeri paper says new "geopolitical master" emerges in region

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  • BAKU: Azeri paper says new "geopolitical master" emerges in region

    Azeri paper says new "geopolitical master" emerges in region

    Zerkalo, Baku
    3 Nov 04

    Text of A. Rasidoglu's report by Azerbaijani newspaper Zerkalo on 3
    November headlined "Merzlyakov diverts world attention" and subheaded
    "By that the Minsk Group co-chairman gives way to resumption of
    military operations in Karabakh".

    It was noted already that the situation with Azerbaijan's occupied
    territories will be discussed at a session of the UN General
    Assembly. From the very beginning, Zerkalo predicted that the OSCE
    Minsk Group would again take a dim view of the "Karabakh issue" being
    included in the agenda of the session of this respectable
    organization. And the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairman from Russia, Yuriy
    Merzlyakov, has recently said that the UN discussion of the situation
    in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan will seriously hurt the
    peace process.

    Merzlyakov told [Azerbaijani] ATV channel that Baku's initiative to
    put the issue on the agenda of the 59th session of the UN General
    Assembly was in no way necessary. Touching upon the French
    negotiator's remarks that the issue should not have been put on the
    agenda of the General Assembly, Merzlyakov said that the French
    diplomat expressed the position not only of his own government, but
    also of Moscow and Washington.

    "There was no need for this initiative today when we are all waiting
    for the peace process to resume. On the other hand, the UN is not an
    organization to discuss the Karabakh issue because this problem is
    being tackled by the OSCE. Therefore, the French negotiator spoke
    against that after consultations with his counterparts from the USA
    and Russia. The discussion of this issue at the UN will be not to the
    peace negotiations' benefit, but to the detriment."

    The Russian co-chairman said that Azerbaijan's initiative is
    ineffective in legal terms, too. "The resolutions by the UN General
    Assembly should not be confused with the resolutions by the UN
    Security Council. The [resolutions] by the former can only serve as
    recommendation."

    "The initiative to consider the item about 'the situation in
    Azerbaijan's occupied lands' not only by the OSCE but also by the UN
    General Assembly can hardly have a favourable effect on the
    negotiations process," said a commentary by the department for
    information and press of the Russian Foreign Ministry on Moscow's
    position on the voting at the UN General Assembly on this issue
    (Turan).

    The commentary says that Russia abstained from voting like other OSCE
    Minsk Group co-chairmen. "By the way, the outcome of the voting has
    illustrated that most members of the world community are of the same
    position," the document says. "As to the negotiations on a Nagornyy
    Karabakh settlement, Russia is known to be interested in the
    resolution of this issue as soon as possible and fully facilitates it
    either on a bilateral basis or as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk
    Group. We think that the format of the given group allows us to
    resolve any problems related to the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and
    achieve peace. Besides, we believe that the recent meeting between the
    Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents has outlined prospects for
    resuming negotiations in search of an acceptable solution," the
    commentary said.

    In principle, Merzlyakov is right, because even if the "Karabakh
    issue" becomes a topic for discussion by the UN General Assembly, any
    decision passed will not be mandatory. But in any case if the
    Azerbaijani side prepares better and puts emphasis not on the
    settlement of the conflict, the task which the UN has assigned to the
    OSCE, but on the consideration of the situation in the occupied
    territories of Azerbaijan, the international community may demand that
    Armenia reject its policy aimed at changing the course of history.

    One may wonder at Baku's recent upbeat statements. And putting the
    "Karabakh issue" on the agenda of the UN General Assembly will only
    make the confrontation stronger. Experts say that by this move Baku
    may bury the aspirations of the super powers to compel our leadership
    to sign a "peace treaty under unfavourable conditions".

    As was expected, the OSCE Minsk Group has been against discussing this
    issue within the UN framework. However, quite a reasonable question
    emerges: "Does the Minsk Group itself has any ideas?" Armenia often
    refers to certain "Key West" principles. Was there any agreement under
    them? There are no answers to these questions now, nor have there ever
    been. Baku is most concerned about the continuing occupation of
    Azerbaijani lands by Armenia.

    There is an impression that the authorities are starting a new game in
    the region and that a new geopolitical master, in the person of the
    European Union [EU], is emerging in the region. It has its own
    objectives which don't always coincide with the interests of the
    geopolitical old-timers of the South Caucasus - Russia and the
    USA. Yet, it should be taken into account that the EU may side with
    the USA on one issue and with Russia on the other. That means that the
    countries in the South Caucasus would have more space for manoeuvring
    if, of course, they manage to coordinate their foreign policies,
    albeit partially.

    Besides, trying to incorporate the South Caucasus into "Enlarged
    Europe", but without Russia in the end, the EU is interested in the
    resolution of regional conflicts as soon as possible. Moreover, the EU
    has powerful levers of influence in the shape of various political and
    financial institutions. As to Armenia, it continues to speak the
    language of threats, which will inevitably bring about the resumption
    of military operations.
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