MATT BRYZA: I ASSUME THAT NOVRUZ MAMMADOV WASN’T QUOTED ACCURATELY

Today.Az
tics/52320.html
May 15 2009
Azerbaijan

US Deputy assistant Secretary of State, OSCE Minsk Group US co-chair
Matthew Bryza gives an interview to APA US bureau

– There are different interpretations of the outcome of the Prague
meeting. From your perspective, was it a successful one or not?

– Prague, I would argue, was the most constructive meeting between
the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia that we the current team
of Co-Chairs have experienced. We wish that there would have been
a breakthrough. There was not quite a breakthrough. But what the
Presidents discussed, I believe, set them up to reach a breakthrough
when they come together next in Saint Petersburg.

– After Prague meeting many online sources quoted you saying that "for
the first time, the presidents agreed on the basic ideas surrounding
those points (in negotiations)". So the presidents agreed on those
ideas and reached a breakthrough or not?

– I was talking about some specific points. What I talked about was
a handful of remaining points among our Basic Principals that have
not yet been agreed and these are the subjects of the discussions in
Prague, in Saint Petersburg and for the meetings of the presidents
over the last 2 years. There is a handful of specific points within
the Basic Principals and what I said –, and I stand by it — and
my colleagues Yuri Merzlyakov and Bernard Fassier fully agree,
because they are ones who convinced me about what I am about to
say. The presidents for the first time, when they their discussions,
indicated that they agreed on the basic ideas surrounding those
handful of remaining points on the Basic Principals. I am not talking
about all the Basic Principals. Many of them are agreed in concept,
but there are a lot of details that must still be negotiated. But,
in terms of the basic concepts that become the Basic Principals there
are a handful left that are not agreed and of those handful not agreed
for the first time the presidents showed that they agree on the basic
idea of how to resolve those points.

– Novruz Mammadov of the President’s Office stated that you released
the statement in Prague without consulting with the Azerbaijani
side. Is it a true?

– I made my statement after leaving the meeting of the Presidents of
Azerbaijan and Armenia and their Ministers of Foreign Affairs, and the
fellow Co-Chairs. I am a mediator and I made my own assessments. My
job as a mediator is to observe and try to facilitate the discussions
to bring them to agreement. Another part of my job is characterizing
what I saw and so I was offering my opinion as a Co-Chair. Mr. Mammadov
wasn’t in any of those meetings. He wasn’t at the one on one between
the two Presidents and wasn’t at the meeting of the Co-Chairs with
the foreign ministers and the Presidents. So he doesn’t know what
happened at those meetings first hand. I do because I was there and
that’s why I was offering my assessment.

He was questioning my integrity by saying that perhaps I am not
telling the truth to my Secretary of State or the President. I would
never make such accusations and certainly when I report back to my
top leaders, I tell them exactly what I think in as accurate a way
as possible. Mr. Mammadov has been a true friend of peace and our
process, and U.S.-Azerbaijani relations. I assume that he wasn’t
quoted accurately.

– As some sources indicate the meeting in Prague has failed because
the President of Armenia required to set an exact date on which the
referendum will be held on the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh.

– As a policy I will not comment on actual specifics of
the negotiations. What I observed is that Azerbaijani side was
disappointed that there wasn’t more progress made. So I wish there
had been more progress made as well. I can say that President Aliyev
was very constructive. I have come to know President Sargsyan as quite
constructive and bold as well. So we hope that when Saint Petersburg
happens we will see both presidents feeling sufficiently comfortable
if we Co-Chairs do enough good work in the meantime to make that
breakthrough that I had hoped would happen in Prague.

– Novruz Mammadov also said that Co-Chairs are reluctant to name
Armenia as an aggressor country. Why UN, the Council of Europe in
the resolutions can call Armenia an aggressor country but you can’t?

– Because the Co-Chairs’ job is different. Co-Chairs are not
political organizations like Council of Europe or UN. Co-Chairs are
mediators. Our job is to help the parties agree between themselves
on how to establish peace. Our job is to get them to agree. Our job
is not to issue political statements. Governments and international
organizations issue political statements. With all due respect to
Mr. Mammedov, he is a great public servant for many years, but
I think he is asking the Co-Chairs to behave not as Co-Chairs,
but as politicians. We are not. We are mediators and we have to
mediate. At the end, I want to say that as a mediator in this same
spirit that I have described to you, I am fully committed with
my co-chair counterparts to using every ounce of energy I have to
help the two Presidents eliminate the remaining differences on those
points that I was describing a moment ago and agree to them in Saint
Petersburg. It is possible. It is time to look forward. I don’t have
any hard feelings about any criticism that anyone levels toward me. It
is good to know what people think. I want to just ask first, people
listen very carefully to specific words that I use. You know that
"Echo Moscow" changed their transcript; they got the transcript wrong
in our recent interview in Prague. As much I am friend of Azerbaijan
and as much as I am friend of Armenia, my job now isn’t to strengthen
U.S.-Azerbaijani or U.S. Armenian relations. My job is to mediate
the conflict, help the Presidents and the peoples to reconcile.

– And positive momentum still exists for reaching a breakthrough in
Saint Petersburg?

– Of course it does. By the way, President Aliyev is showing a
strong leadership. The president of Azerbaijan is showing strong and
courageous leadership in a way that very firmly defends Azerbaijan
national interest. But also he is forward looking and hopefully we
will soon get a peace agreement.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress