PROBLEMS REMAIN UNSETTLED AFTER THE OSCE SUMMIT
Karine Ter-Sahakyan
PanARMENIAN.Net
06.12.2008 GMT+04:00
All the statements in the declaration are given in the subjunctive
mood, which, as we all know, is a most suitable form to conceal one’s
inability of affecting the developments in the South Caucasus region.
The meeting between the OSCE Foreign Ministers in Helsinki is
already over. As expected, the major issues to be discussed at the
summit were the situation in the Caucasus region, particularly the
problem of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict regulation, and, naturally,
the Russian-Georgian relations. It would, of course, be naive to
expect anything new in the Karabakh problem, in spite of the fact
that certain forces in Armenia and Azerbaijan hurried with their
conclusions concerning the dates of regulation.
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Most apparently, the reason for these conclusions was
the statement of the OSCE CiO’s Special Representative Heikki Talvitie,
who claimed that the year of 2008 proved useful for resolution of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "Next year Greece will assume the OSCE
presidency and much will depend on how Athens will integrate into the
process of the Karabakh conflict regulation," said Talvitie, adding
that the meetings between the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents
can be viewed as important steps towards the conflict settlement.
If we convert the diplomat’s words into common language, it proves
that neither changes, nor progress can be observed in the regulation
process, because all the statements in the declaration are given in
the subjunctive mood, which, as we all know, is a most suitable way
to conceal one’s inability of affecting the developments in the South
Caucasus region. It happened in Georgia in the August of 2008, and
it is what we have been experiencing in Karabakh for 20 years already.
Meanwhile, Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov declares:
"The Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair states
have submitted some changes in Madrid principles concerning the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. I am sure that either a ministerial
or a presidential meeting will follow a thorough analysis of these
changes." By the way, the Armenian Foreign Minister in no way commented
on Mammadyarov’s statement. Thus, either the statement is true or it
is the Azeri Foreign Minister’s heart’s desire… And the changes are
quite incomprehensible like the principles themselves, which aren’t
yet made public. Most likely, there are some secret things about
which it is still rather early to speak, but shouldn’t the Armenians,
or to be more exact, the Karabakh people know about it? After all,
it is their fate that is at stake. Here one may unwittingly draw
an analogy with the pact Â"Molotov-RibbentropÂ", whose particulars
became known only 50 years later.
In the meantime, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian informs
the OSCE Ministerial Council that Azerbaijan misinterprets all the
provisions of the Moscow Declaration. "Baku goes as far as stating,
in particular, that the peaceful settlement does not exclude use of
force. I wonder if there is any other state here, around this table,
which could have such interpretation of the very clear notion of the
‘peaceful political settlement’," Nalbandian notes.
According to RA FM, despite all this Armenia would like to hope that
the two sides of the conflict will be able to maintain the spirit
and the positive momentum of the Moscow declaration and will advance
towards the resolution of the conflict. "This was also the vision
of the declaration made yesterday by the three Co-Chair countries in
framework of our Ministerial meeting," the Minister said.
The declaration signed in Helsinki by the Co-Chair countries of
the OSCE Minsk Group says: "The Moscow Declaration opened a new and
promising phase in our shared endeavor to expand peace in the South
Caucasus. In that declaration, the Presidents reaffirm their commitment
to advancing a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
in the framework of the Basic Principles developed by the Minsk Group
Co-Chairs in collaboration with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan
on the basis of their proposals advanced last year in Madrid. We
call on the parties to work with the Co-Chairs to finalize the Basic
Principles in coming months, and then begin drafting a comprehensive
peace settlement as outlined by those agreed principles. We reiterate
our firm view that there is no military solution to the conflict and
call on the parties to recommit to a peaceful resolution."
In a word, it is one of those usual non-binding and pointless
documents, of which the Karabakh people have seen a lot in the long
process of the conflict Â"regulationÂ".
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