Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

When the situation in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region has exploded unexpectedly following Armenia’s provocation, the most expected was the response of the OSCE Minsk Group, the only mediator in resolution of the conflict.

Over the entire period of its existence, the OSCE MG has not managed to determine ways to resolve the long-lasting Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict fairly. Moreover, over the four days, the OSCE MG co-chairs have failed to take any decisive action that could play a role in reducing the tensions.

The MG co-chairs come together only on April 5 at a special meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna. Ambassador James Warlick, representing the three Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group, and the Personal Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, informed the OSCE participating states about recent developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Warlick and Kasprzyk stressed that it is important to return to the political process on the basis of a sustainable ceasefire, while the OSCE participating states agreed that the latest escalation is deeply worrying and that it is necessary for the OSCE to continue playing a central role in facilitating a peaceful settlement.

The Co-Chairs together with Ambassador Kasprzyk travelled to the regions shortly after the Vienna meeting. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov received the co-chairs on April 6 to discuss the recent escalation.

Following the talks, the co-chairs noted that the negotiations over the Nagorno-Karabakh problem should become intensive and decisive step should be taken towards a peace settlement.

The OSCE Minsk Group has brought a message to Baku and will bring to Yerevan about the need for immediate ceasefire in order to create an environment where progress can be made on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict's settlement, the Minsk Group's US Co-chair James Warlick told reporters in Baku.

Warlick said comprehensive settlement means withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories and the return of those territories to Azerbaijan, and also it means that the parties must deal with the issue of status for Nagorno-Karabakh.

Although the statements made by the co-chairs seem to be more decisive than ever, experts believe that a new mechanism for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is needed. The MG co-chairs have preoccupied themselves on talks only, forgetting about actions.

Justin Amler, an Australian writer and observer, believes that the Minsk Group, chaired by France, Russia and the United States has proven itself to be a failure.

“A new mechanism needs to be found to deal with the conflict that allows Azerbaijani sovereignty to be restored as well as consideration for those Armenians living there,” he wrote in his article issued on Washington Times.

Experts believe that to achieve a progress in the peace talks on the conflict it is necessary to change the format of OSCE MG. They suppose that the co-chairs should confess their failure and resign. Other mediators or the conflicting sides themselves should deal with the problem, they say.

The Minsk Group, to somehow justify its importance and significance, takes random acts, trying to create illusion of importance and to impose its will on other international institutions.

"It is time to change its format, to attract new mediators, perhaps, such as Turkey and Kazakhstan,” Kazakh expert Aydos Sarym told Trend.

But, Russia, which is represented in the MG, is opposed to changing the format of the "troika" and believes that attempts to undermine Russia’s role are counterproductive.

"The format of the “troika”, whose role is enshrined in OSCE decisions and UN Security Council, is efficient and does not require adjustments,” stressed Aleksandr Lukashevich, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the OSCE.

The OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, proceeding talks based on the renewed Madrid principles. The statements promising a sincere contribution to the peaceful resolution of the conflict have become frequent, but declarative in essence.

The very attitude broke confidence in success of the mediators representing the U.S., Russia and France.

In 1994, the OSCE Budapest Summit established the so-called Minsk Group, which is co-chaired by France, the Russian Federation, and the United States. The group’s permanent members are Belarus, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and Turkey, as well as Armenia and Azerbaijan.

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Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova

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