I BELIEVE NO ONE WILL OPPOSE TURKEY’S CO-CHAIRMANSHIP IN OSCE MINSK GROUP: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR
Today
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Nov 10 2009
Azerbaijan
Day.Az interview with Professorial Fellow in International Relations
at Oxford University S. Neil MacFarlane.
Day.Az: Media reports claim the White House plans to appoint well
known U.S. State Department diplomat Matthew Bryza as U.S. envoy to
Azerbaijan. How, in your opinion, it will affect the US-Azerbaijani
relations?
Neil MacFarlane: I gather that the Azerbaijani government has
reservations about this appointment. If the two governments disagree
on the appointment, one can assume there would be a modest problem in
the relationship. But the basis of the relationship is material and
it does not depend on disagreements concerning diplomatic appointments.
Q: Do you believe that Turkey can become the 4th member state of
the OSCE Minsk Group? How would this impact the solution of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?
A: Here the question would be whether any of the conflict parties
objected. I don’t think they would. Also, would the other three
chairs accept. I think Russia would be okay with it, given the general
development of Russo-Turkish relations. The US would be okay with it
too. I don’t see any reason why France would disagree.
Q: What can you say about the possible border opening between Turkey
and Armenia? Are parliaments of the two countries likely to ratify
the protocols?
A: Ratification of the agreement in the two parliaments will be
difficult (perhaps more in Turkey than in Armenia). On balance I
think the two will ratify, but it may go the other way.