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No US, Russian Peacekeepers in Karabakh: Opinions from Baku and Yerevan
05.08.2014 19:38 epress.am
Interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh does not mean that it will become
an independent entity, Azerbaijani political analyst Zardusht Alizadeh
(pictured, below) in conversation with Haqqin.az, commenting on OSCE
Minsk Group US Co-ChairJames Warlick's speech yesterday on the
official policy of the US Government on settlement of the Karabakh
conflict.
According to Alizadeh, the US, Russia, and the EU will be closely
monitoring the formation of Karabakh: how it complies with
international laws, adheres to democratic standards and human rights,
ensures the cohabitation of Azerbaijani and Armenian communities, and
so on. "Only then will these countries decide whether this formation
can survive independently or not," he said.
"Maybe Karabakh will never be endowed with separate status. All these
issues have been developed over a long time, and there is nothing new.
We, in fact, lose nothing. We return all the occupied territories, and
our people [to] Shushi and the other cities of Karabakh, where they
lived before the conflict," he added.
Regarding the deployment of peacekeepers in Karabakh, the analyst said
neither Russian nor American peacekeepers benefits Azerbaijan. "I
think, the main difficult negotiations will be on this issue," he
said.
Armenian public figure Ara Nedolyan (pictured, above) believes that
the six principles proposed by American diplomacy are still "raw" and
don't provide a clear prospect for conflict resolution and the
establishment of peace. On his Facebook page, Nedolyan wrote
[AM]:"First, Armenia and Azerbaijan agree on the final status of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Question: how to agree when their positions are
diametrically opposed? Azerbaijan insists that Nagorno-Karabakh must
remain within Azerbaijan, which is unacceptable for us.
"The remaining points in the face of this contradiction are
meaningless but also have internal contradictions: in particular, if
the Lachin and Kelbajar regions do not remain under the control of the
Armenian side, the point about ensuring a land corridor between the
Republic of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh becomes meaningless.
"Also meaningless is the point about the return of displaced persons.
Because of the reasons I mentioned, Azerbaijanis cannot return to
Lachin and Kelbajar, cannot return also to Shushi (it has already been
resettled) or Khojaly, which simply doesn't exist. And where should
the Armenian residents of Shahumyan and Getashen return, if they are
not to be included in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh?
"Also meaningless is the point about introducing peacekeeping troops
because if the parties overcome the aforementioned contradictions and
clearly take the path to reconciliation, then peacekeeping forces are
simply not needed; they have no problem to resolve. And the
introduction of foreign troops on the territory of independent states
is itself a destabilizing fact.
"My conclusion: unrealistic principles, which cannot serve as a basis
for reconciliation, no matter how much [Armenian President] Serzh
[Sargsyan] has not secretly given his approval. It absolutely doesn't
oblige us to anything."
According to Azerbaijani political analyst Vafa Guluzade (pictured,
above), Baku must agree on the principles articulated by Warlick,
since "no one will no longer offer us anything." "All these issues are
reflected in the Madrid Principles, and there is nothing new. If they
didn't prevent it at the time, [former President of Armenia] Levon
Ter-Petrossian had agreed to this option. If the US is principled on
this matter, perhaps something will work out with them."
At the same, Guluzade is against deploying Russian and American
peacekeepers. "After the events in Ukraine, believing in Russian
peacekeepers is the same as not having respect for yourself, and the
Americans didn't behave themselves in Kosovo. I think, in this matter
we have to defend our own interests," he said.
http://www.epress.am/en/2014/05/08/no-us-russian-peacekeepers-in-karabakh-opinions-from-baku-and-yerevan.html
05.08.2014 19:38 epress.am
Interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh does not mean that it will become
an independent entity, Azerbaijani political analyst Zardusht Alizadeh
(pictured, below) in conversation with Haqqin.az, commenting on OSCE
Minsk Group US Co-ChairJames Warlick's speech yesterday on the
official policy of the US Government on settlement of the Karabakh
conflict.
According to Alizadeh, the US, Russia, and the EU will be closely
monitoring the formation of Karabakh: how it complies with
international laws, adheres to democratic standards and human rights,
ensures the cohabitation of Azerbaijani and Armenian communities, and
so on. "Only then will these countries decide whether this formation
can survive independently or not," he said.
"Maybe Karabakh will never be endowed with separate status. All these
issues have been developed over a long time, and there is nothing new.
We, in fact, lose nothing. We return all the occupied territories, and
our people [to] Shushi and the other cities of Karabakh, where they
lived before the conflict," he added.
Regarding the deployment of peacekeepers in Karabakh, the analyst said
neither Russian nor American peacekeepers benefits Azerbaijan. "I
think, the main difficult negotiations will be on this issue," he
said.
Armenian public figure Ara Nedolyan (pictured, above) believes that
the six principles proposed by American diplomacy are still "raw" and
don't provide a clear prospect for conflict resolution and the
establishment of peace. On his Facebook page, Nedolyan wrote
[AM]:"First, Armenia and Azerbaijan agree on the final status of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Question: how to agree when their positions are
diametrically opposed? Azerbaijan insists that Nagorno-Karabakh must
remain within Azerbaijan, which is unacceptable for us.
"The remaining points in the face of this contradiction are
meaningless but also have internal contradictions: in particular, if
the Lachin and Kelbajar regions do not remain under the control of the
Armenian side, the point about ensuring a land corridor between the
Republic of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh becomes meaningless.
"Also meaningless is the point about the return of displaced persons.
Because of the reasons I mentioned, Azerbaijanis cannot return to
Lachin and Kelbajar, cannot return also to Shushi (it has already been
resettled) or Khojaly, which simply doesn't exist. And where should
the Armenian residents of Shahumyan and Getashen return, if they are
not to be included in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh?
"Also meaningless is the point about introducing peacekeeping troops
because if the parties overcome the aforementioned contradictions and
clearly take the path to reconciliation, then peacekeeping forces are
simply not needed; they have no problem to resolve. And the
introduction of foreign troops on the territory of independent states
is itself a destabilizing fact.
"My conclusion: unrealistic principles, which cannot serve as a basis
for reconciliation, no matter how much [Armenian President] Serzh
[Sargsyan] has not secretly given his approval. It absolutely doesn't
oblige us to anything."
According to Azerbaijani political analyst Vafa Guluzade (pictured,
above), Baku must agree on the principles articulated by Warlick,
since "no one will no longer offer us anything." "All these issues are
reflected in the Madrid Principles, and there is nothing new. If they
didn't prevent it at the time, [former President of Armenia] Levon
Ter-Petrossian had agreed to this option. If the US is principled on
this matter, perhaps something will work out with them."
At the same, Guluzade is against deploying Russian and American
peacekeepers. "After the events in Ukraine, believing in Russian
peacekeepers is the same as not having respect for yourself, and the
Americans didn't behave themselves in Kosovo. I think, in this matter
we have to defend our own interests," he said.
http://www.epress.am/en/2014/05/08/no-us-russian-peacekeepers-in-karabakh-opinions-from-baku-and-yerevan.html