World powers intensify efforts on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement
By Elmira Tariverdiyeva
The lull in the Nagorno-Karabakh process in connection with the
difficult political crisis in Ukraine has come to a logical
conclusion. The Azerbaijan, France and Armenia president's meeting
in Paris was another step towards the stabilization of the
situation around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The world players' paying attention to the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict settlement saw this meeting preceded by several bloody
incidents on the contact line between Armenian and Azerbaijani
troops this summer that claimed many lives. However, immediately
after the practical resumption of hostilities between the two
republics, the leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing
countries made efforts to return the sides of the territorial
dispute to the negotiating table.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict may not remain a 'frozen' territorial
dispute as the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia
that have lasted for more than 20 years can not continue forever.
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen realize that it is necessary to
impress upon Yerevan as the aggressor country to move the conflict
off dead center.
Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a trilateral meeting
over Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijani and Armenian
Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan in Sochi last
August.
Prior to that, the Russian president held bilateral meetings with
the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents. Afterwards, another
co-chair country of the OSCE Minsk Group, the US took the
initiative. On this occasion, the leaders of the two countries met
on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Newport with participation
of US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Today, French President Francois Hollande held bilateral and
trilateral meetings with his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts
at the Elysee Palace.
Although it is unlikely that another meeting of the two opposing
sides will lead to any cardinal breakthrough in the process of
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the attention of the
leaders of world powers to this process may be assessed as a
positive trend.
The main result of the meeting was that the president of France,
the country where the Armenian diaspora is strong and influential
enough, reiterated the unalterable point in the settlement of the
territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan: the status quo
which satisfies Armenia is unacceptable. And this is one of the
main messages the leaders of the three powers need to send to
Armenia.
Meanwhile, the mediators should realize that everlasting protocol
meetings, which do not bring any noticeable results, will
eventually become completely useless and unable to stabilize the
situation between the conflicting sides.
So, each leader must realize one thing: the image of a mediator is
an important diplomatic step. However, in order to deserve to be
called a peacekeeper, one needs to carry out really fruitful
mediation work.