Has Azerbaijan Agreed to Recognize Independence of Karabakh?

Has Azerbaijan Agreed to Recognize Independence of Karabakh?

Naira Hayrumyan, Political Commentator
Comments – 14 March 2015, 09:41

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs left for Minsk and the foreign minister
of Belarus confirmed his country’s readiness to host the Minsk
conference. Vladimir Makei called the visit of co-chairs to Minsk
historic.

The Minsk conference may truly be a historic visit. As is known, it
can be called to reach a final or important agreement. It could be a
Peace Agreement but also an agreement on temporary freezing,
ceasefire, opening roads and continuation of negotiations.

Belarus fully agrees that at this stage the primary issue is to
alleviate tension at the line of contact, the Belorussian foreign
minister Vladimir Makei said. It means that the countries and
mediators may have agreed on a grand ceasefire rather than peace. And
in Karabakh everyone needs the ceasefire.

It happened so that the Karabakh conflict encloses an entire complex
of regional and global processes. It covers opening of roads in the
South Caucasus, growing influence of the West, ousting of Russia from
the post-Soviet space, Turkey’s containment, possible redesign of
borders in the Near East as Kurdistan may be established.

Karabakh is so important that in the last three years the presidents
of Russia, the United States and France have made three joint
statements about Karabakh. It means that Karabakh is the key to a big
region and nobody wants to give up on that key.

The fact that the co-chairs have left for Minsk may mean that the
co-chairs are for laying down the status quo in a binding document.
However, legally binding will itself mean a change of the status quo.

Official Yerevan and Baku have not commented on the possibility of
calling a conference in Minsk, and especially the signing of a Peace
Agreement. It has been a long time Azerbaijan started speaking about a
Grand Peace Agreement while Yerevan insists that first the principles
of settlement need to be agreed.

Armenia states ready to discuss “the principles of Madrid” which
suppose the recognition of the right to self-determination of Karabakh
(former Autonomous District plus an indefinite part of territories),
withdrawal of Armenian forces from the other territories and
deployment of peacekeepers. Yerevan claims that Baku disagrees to
recognize the right to self-determination of Karabakh.

And what if they have “persuaded” Baku to recognize this right? Turkey
already announces that if the Armenian side withdraws from at least
one territory, Turkey will open the border with Armenia. Turkey hints
that it will persuade Azerbaijan in that case.

What does Armenia want? Is Yerevan ready for the agreement of the
mediators with Azerbaijan on recognition of Karabakh within certain
borders? What borders are acceptable to the Armenian side?

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress