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Artsakh: talks are based on a fundamental flaw
July 9, 2011 - 10:21 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - In the July 8 edition of The Washington Post,
reporter Will Englund reminds that for more than a decade, Russia, the
United States and various European organizations have been trying to
sponsor a framework peace agreement that would finally settle the
conflict in Nagorno Karabakh, which itself doesn't have a seat at the
table.
`Nagorno Karabakh is ready for compromise,' President Bako Sahakyan
said. `But it has to have the opportunity to discuss the issue with
Azerbaijan directly.'
Nagorno Karabakh says it won't give up land if that means it must
retreat to indefensible borders. Officials familiar with the Minsk
Group deliberations say it is clear that any settlement will have to
be accepted by Nagorno Karabakh, but that's a problem for the next
phase - which is unlikely to come anytime soon, the article reads.
The latest round of negotiations was held in the Russian city of Kazan
on June 24, and broke up without results. Some Nagorno Karabakh
officials say that failure shows it's time to try a new approach:
giving them a seat at the negotiating table.
Masis Mayilian, who was Deputy Foreign Minister and a onetime
candidate for president, said the problem with the Minsk process is
that it's based on what he considers a fundamental flaw: In 1991, the
international community decided to recognize the Soviet-era borders of
the newly independent states. That is why Nagorno Karabakh hasn't been
recognized, hasn't been included in the talks, and is officially still
considered part of Azerbaijan, even though it declared independence
before the Soviet breakup.
`The Minsk Group could be effective,' Mayilian noted, `but as long as
they work based on a mistaken premise, they put the brakes on the
process.'
At the same time, others here argue that not taking part in the
negotiations gives Nagorno Karabakh the ultimate veto right over any
compromise, the article says.
Sahakyan, in arguing for inclusion, said he wants nonetheless to be
careful not to torpedo the Minsk Group process altogether. `Just
having the talks going on has helped bring Nagorno Karabakh a certain
measure of peace and stability,' he said. `We value any such meeting,
even in a distorted format, and these meetings will bring closer
Nagorno Karabakh's participation in these talks.'
July 9, 2011 - 10:21 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - In the July 8 edition of The Washington Post,
reporter Will Englund reminds that for more than a decade, Russia, the
United States and various European organizations have been trying to
sponsor a framework peace agreement that would finally settle the
conflict in Nagorno Karabakh, which itself doesn't have a seat at the
table.
`Nagorno Karabakh is ready for compromise,' President Bako Sahakyan
said. `But it has to have the opportunity to discuss the issue with
Azerbaijan directly.'
Nagorno Karabakh says it won't give up land if that means it must
retreat to indefensible borders. Officials familiar with the Minsk
Group deliberations say it is clear that any settlement will have to
be accepted by Nagorno Karabakh, but that's a problem for the next
phase - which is unlikely to come anytime soon, the article reads.
The latest round of negotiations was held in the Russian city of Kazan
on June 24, and broke up without results. Some Nagorno Karabakh
officials say that failure shows it's time to try a new approach:
giving them a seat at the negotiating table.
Masis Mayilian, who was Deputy Foreign Minister and a onetime
candidate for president, said the problem with the Minsk process is
that it's based on what he considers a fundamental flaw: In 1991, the
international community decided to recognize the Soviet-era borders of
the newly independent states. That is why Nagorno Karabakh hasn't been
recognized, hasn't been included in the talks, and is officially still
considered part of Azerbaijan, even though it declared independence
before the Soviet breakup.
`The Minsk Group could be effective,' Mayilian noted, `but as long as
they work based on a mistaken premise, they put the brakes on the
process.'
At the same time, others here argue that not taking part in the
negotiations gives Nagorno Karabakh the ultimate veto right over any
compromise, the article says.
Sahakyan, in arguing for inclusion, said he wants nonetheless to be
careful not to torpedo the Minsk Group process altogether. `Just
having the talks going on has helped bring Nagorno Karabakh a certain
measure of peace and stability,' he said. `We value any such meeting,
even in a distorted format, and these meetings will bring closer
Nagorno Karabakh's participation in these talks.'