MUCH WORK STILL NEEDS TO BE DONE TO RESOLVE SO-CALLED FROZEN CONFLICTS: OSCE PA PRESIDENT
arminfo
2007-07-06 12:48:00
"In the young democracies of both Central Asia and the Caucasus, much
work still needs to be done." The President of OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly Goran Lennmaker particularly pointed to the unresolved,
so-called frozen conflicts, notably in Nagorno-Karabakh, but also in
Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria. These all carry high human,
economic and political costs, Goran Lennmarker said in Vienna before
the 16th annual session of OSCE in Kiev.
OSCE headquarters told ArmInfo that Goran Lennmarker expanded on
his own active involvement in seeking a peaceful solution to the
conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan about Nagorno-Karabakh –
first as the Special Representative on Nagorno- Karabakh of the
Parliamentary Assembly and now as its President.
"For some time now, I have talked about ‘a golden opportunity’ for
an agreement and now, after another visit to the Caucasus, I believe
more than ever in that opportunity," said the President.
A good framework agreement that addresses the main concerns of all
parties has been presented by the Minsk Group, co-chaired by France,
Russia and the United States, he said. It is ready to be signed by
the leaders of the two countries, if the political will is there.
"The alternative, a new war, is unthinkable." The advantages of
a peace accord for the two countries, Armenia and Azerbaijan,
are huge. Hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons
and refugees could return and re-start their lives. With a peace
agreement in Nagorno-Karabakh, he continued, the two countries and
Georgia could, in earnest, work to build a region characterized by
security, democracy and prosperity.
He said that as Western Europe reaches out eastward, it was
important to understand the difficulties in building new, independent
nations. That work will not be completed overnight. But engagement
must continue not just for the sake of these countries but for the
sake of all of Europe, Goran Lennmarker said.