AZERI ATTACKS LOOM OVER KARABAKH TALKS
Wednesday, February 5th, 2014
The Minsk Group co-chairmen meet with President Sarkisian
YEREVAN–Despite efforts by the OSCE Minsk Group mediators to downplay
deadly attacks by Azeri forces against border towns in Karabakh and
Armenia, Azerbaijan’s policy of aggression loomed over talks held in
Yerevan on Wednesday.
The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen Igor Popov of Russia, Jacque Faure of
France and James Warlick of the US were joined by Andrzej Kasprzyk,
the Personal Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office in meetings
with Armenian officials including the president foreign minister.
This comes less that two weeks after the Armenian and Azeri foreign
minister Eduard Nalbandian and Elmar Mammadyarov met in Paris. Those
talks, however, were overshadowed by aggressive Azeri incursions
and sniper fire, which left two soldiers dead and a 16-year-old girl
wounded in the Tavush district of Armenia.
The mediators were in Baku on Tuesday meeting with Azeri officials,
who, once again, rejected the calls for the immediate withdrawal
of snipers.
In an announcement after the Paris meeting, the co-chairmen expressed
concern over the resurgence of violence on the border and issued what
has become a typical announcement laced with false party saying that
border incidents “diminish the prospects for peace.”
The co-chairmen were greeted at the foreign ministry building by
protesters taking part in a demonstration organized by the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation Nigol Aghbalian Student Organization and
the ARF Youth Organization. The protesters were demanding that the
co-chairmen abandon the fake objectivity condemn Azerbaijan for its
policy of aggression.
The demonstrators contended that the co-chairmen’s posturing only
encourages Azerbaijan to continue its military threats and advance
the incursions, which are destabilizing the security of the region.
The co-chairmen, who were hoping to follow-up on the Paris talks
and schedule a fresh meeting between Armenian and Azeri presidents,
instead emerged from the talks in Yerevan with no concrete plans.
Russia’s Popov told reporters that it was to soon to discuss another
presidential summit.
“In order for the two presidents to meet, we need to complement the
package of proposals with adequate and substantial provisions. We
are working on that right now,” Popov said without elaborating.
“I don’t know when the next meeting of the presidents will be,” said
the US’s Warlick. “We need to work toward it. We want to make sure
it’s a productive one and it’s up to the presidents to decide.”
“It’s not easy to find the way forward, but I do think that there is
a sincere effort underway,” he said while speaking to organizational
representatives earlier in the day. “But it needs to be underpinned
by Track Two [diplomacy,] by people-to-people [contacts.]”
The Armenian Foreign Ministry’s statement on the talks focused
on Nalbandian’s reported complaints about Azerbaijan’s continued
provocations. However, Nalbandian also reiterated that Armenia
agreed with the co-chairmen who called for a joint Armenian-Azeri
investigation into the cease-fire violations.
In May, the tenuous cease-fire agreement will turn 20. A quick glance
at its effectiveness will show that Azerbaijan’s continuous violations
are truly impeding the peace process.
http://asbarez.com/119193/azeri-attacks-loom-over-karabakh-talks/