Tweet
PROBABLE GERMAN HELP IN SOLVING NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Dec 19 2014
19 December 2014, 09:05 (GMT+04:00)
By Sara Rajabova
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is finally
moving ahead - albeit at a typical slow European bureaucratic pace on
the question of Nagorno-Karabakh. After 20 years of no progress at all,
the Minsk Group, tasked within the organization with finding a solution
to the two decade old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, over
the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh has finally decided to inch ahead
progressing from "no progress at all" to a more aggressive stance of
"mulling it over." With any luck, this next step will see another
generation of bureaucrats accomplishing little more than collect
their salaries.
Yet all is not lost in the next phase which will include yet more
bureaucrats from the European Union, with Germany being added as a
new co-chair. Germany's inclusion comes at the detriment of Turkey,
who some experts considered would make a good candidate.
The U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan said Washington highly appreciated
Germany's participation in the consultations of OSCE Minsk Group
members.
"We see great value in exchanging ideas with Minsk Group members,
to include Germany as OSCE Minsk Group member, on moving the peace
process forward," the embassy told Trend Agency on December 17. An
embassy's spokesperson added that the U.S. was looking forward to
resumption of talks early next year.
Elman Nasirov, political expert and Director of the Institute of
Political Studies of the Academy of Public Administration said the
Minsk Group aims to win the support of the German government in
settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as the mediation function of
the co-chairs is not efficient.
He stated that there was hope that Germany's involvement in this
process would inject new momentum to the talks.
"It seems that Germany's cooperation with the permanent members of the
UN Security Council in P5+1 format in the negotiations over Iran's
nuclear energy programhas not escaped the notice of the co-chairs,"
Nasirov said.
The expert, however, noted that Germany's involvement in the conflict
resolution couldn't be effective for some reasons.
Germany's preference, however, seems to gravitate more towards settling
the Ukraine crisis rather than look into the South Caucasus conflict.
Nasirov said Germany's preference to settle the Ukraine crisis rather
than Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as part of its post-soviet policy,
extremely limits co-chairmen's hopes in Berlin.
"It could be predicted that currently Germany's cooperation with
the Minsk Group co-chairs will not serve to the resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It will serve to the 'mediation between
mediators' for the sake of reconciliation," Nasirov said.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made
territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early
1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed
forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally
recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent
regions.
Peace talks, mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. through the OSCE
Minsk Group, are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by
the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles. However,
the negotiations have been largely fruitless so far despite the
efforts of the co-chair countries for over 20 years.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four
resolutions on its pullout from the neighboring country's territories.
http://www.azernews.az/azerbaijan/74916.html
From: A. Papazian
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Dec 19 2014
19 December 2014, 09:05 (GMT+04:00)
By Sara Rajabova
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is finally
moving ahead - albeit at a typical slow European bureaucratic pace on
the question of Nagorno-Karabakh. After 20 years of no progress at all,
the Minsk Group, tasked within the organization with finding a solution
to the two decade old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, over
the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh has finally decided to inch ahead
progressing from "no progress at all" to a more aggressive stance of
"mulling it over." With any luck, this next step will see another
generation of bureaucrats accomplishing little more than collect
their salaries.
Yet all is not lost in the next phase which will include yet more
bureaucrats from the European Union, with Germany being added as a
new co-chair. Germany's inclusion comes at the detriment of Turkey,
who some experts considered would make a good candidate.
The U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan said Washington highly appreciated
Germany's participation in the consultations of OSCE Minsk Group
members.
"We see great value in exchanging ideas with Minsk Group members,
to include Germany as OSCE Minsk Group member, on moving the peace
process forward," the embassy told Trend Agency on December 17. An
embassy's spokesperson added that the U.S. was looking forward to
resumption of talks early next year.
Elman Nasirov, political expert and Director of the Institute of
Political Studies of the Academy of Public Administration said the
Minsk Group aims to win the support of the German government in
settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as the mediation function of
the co-chairs is not efficient.
He stated that there was hope that Germany's involvement in this
process would inject new momentum to the talks.
"It seems that Germany's cooperation with the permanent members of the
UN Security Council in P5+1 format in the negotiations over Iran's
nuclear energy programhas not escaped the notice of the co-chairs,"
Nasirov said.
The expert, however, noted that Germany's involvement in the conflict
resolution couldn't be effective for some reasons.
Germany's preference, however, seems to gravitate more towards settling
the Ukraine crisis rather than look into the South Caucasus conflict.
Nasirov said Germany's preference to settle the Ukraine crisis rather
than Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as part of its post-soviet policy,
extremely limits co-chairmen's hopes in Berlin.
"It could be predicted that currently Germany's cooperation with
the Minsk Group co-chairs will not serve to the resolution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It will serve to the 'mediation between
mediators' for the sake of reconciliation," Nasirov said.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made
territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early
1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed
forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally
recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent
regions.
Peace talks, mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. through the OSCE
Minsk Group, are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by
the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles. However,
the negotiations have been largely fruitless so far despite the
efforts of the co-chair countries for over 20 years.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four
resolutions on its pullout from the neighboring country's territories.
http://www.azernews.az/azerbaijan/74916.html
From: A. Papazian