NAGORNO-KARABAKH DEMANDS CHANGING OF THE FORMAT OF NEGOTIATIONS
by Yury Roks
Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, June 07, 2007, p. 8
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
June 13, 2007 Wednesday
Stepanakert Demands Participation In The Negotiation Process Of Nagorno-Karabakh Regulation
Stepanakert may not recognize the agreement between Yerevan and Baku
At a press conference after the meeting with acting chair of
OSCE, Miguel Anhel Moratinos, in Yerevan on Tuesday, President of
Nagorno-Karabakh, Arkady Gukasyan, announced that the current format
of negotiations was destructive. Gukasyan reiterated that at the OSCE
summit in Budapest in 1994 with the participation of Azerbaijan, it
was decided that Nagorno-Karabakh would take part in the negotiation
process and intermediaries were instructed to organize negotiations
in the trilateral format.
At a press conference after the meeting with acting chair of
OSCE, Miguel Anhel Moratinos, in Yerevan on Tuesday, President of
Nagorno-Karabakh, Arkady Gukasyan, announced that the current format
of negotiations was destructive. Gukasyan reiterated that at the OSCE
summit in Budapest in 1994 with the participation of Azerbaijan, it
was decided that Nagorno-Karabakh would take part in the negotiation
process and intermediaries were instructed to organize negotiations
in the trilateral format.
Stepan Grigoryan, director of the Yerevan-based center of regional
cooperation, comments: "It is the factor of non-participation of
elected representatives of the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh
in negotiations, along with the absence of political will of the
leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan and non-readiness of Armenian and
Azerbaijani societies for compromises that is the reason for the
inefficiency of regulation." According to Grigoryan, in any schemes
for practical resolving of the conflict (liberation of the territories
adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh was proposed by the intermediaries, the
insertion of peacekeepers into the region and return of Azerbaijani
refugees) residents of Nagorno-Karabakh will be involved as direct
participants of the conflict. "Thus, the participation of Stepanakert
in the negotiations is necessary. It is clear that this contradicts
the interests of Baku, who interprets the situation as a territorial
conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The wrong stance of the intermediaries who believe that it is
easier for a smaller number of participants to reach an agreement
is understandable too. However, it is not understandable why Yerevan
agrees with the current bilateral format," concludes Grigoryan.
Naturally, Baku has its own answer to the claims of Stepanakert.
Azerbaijan points at the fruitlessness of negotiations when
Nagorno-Karabakh has participated in this. For instance, well-known
political scientist Rasim Musabekov states: "The proposal of Gukasyan
is not realistic. It means giving up everything we have and starting
everything anew. Naturally, nobody will do this when negotiations
have reached the homestretch." Speaking about the "homestretch,"
Musabekov says that it is necessary to understand this not as the
signing of agreements, because the chances for this are poor, but
only as the end of a regular stage of the process of regulation.
Musabekov adds: "If the parties do not reach agreements in
St. Petersburg, this may lead to a new round of a regional arms race
or even an outburst of violent actions."
Gegam Bagdasaryan, president of the press club of Stepanakert and
member of the local parliament, said that Gukasyan had to demand
changing the negotiation format earlier. Bagdasaryan added: "The
matter is about Nagorno-Karabakh and about our future, but we do not
even know for sure which proposals are on the table of negotiations.
Do we need to guess if Mathew Braiza lied when he spoke about the
liberation of territories and peacekeepers?!" According to him,
it is illogical to oblige residents of Nagorno-Karabakh to fulfill
resolutions approved without their participation and opinion,
especially against the background of an information war waged by
Baku. Bagdasaryan says: "What kind of peace can we discuss when we
are permanently threatened by war? We have spoken about the need for
the participation of our representatives in negotiations with a clear
division of the rights and obligations of the two Armenian states in
this process for a long time." According to him, if Baku and Yerevan
are interested in the process of regulation, they should also be
interested in the participation of Nagorno-Karabakh in negotiations.