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The OSCE mediators brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict have said 2008 could prove a successful year for the resolution of the long-standing dispute.
"There is a chance that this year will see an agreement between the sides," the co-chairmen of the Minsk Group told a news conference in Baku on the outcomes of their visit to the region on Friday.
"We hope that the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia will avail of all their chances this year and at least make a breakthrough in the conflict settlement," French MG co-chair Bernard Fassier said.
He emphasized that 2008 could be crucial for the peace process, as new leaders will be elected in both countries. "In any country, the newly-elected president strives to solve the most important issues facing the country first."
The MG co-chairs from France, Russia and the United States arrived in the Azerbaijani capital Sunday evening as part of their visit to the region. After holding discussions in Baku they headed to Yerevan late on Monday where they met with President Robert Kocharian and Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian. The co-chairs further headed to Khankandi, an Azeri town turned by Armenians into the center of the self-proclaimed republic, where they had discussions with the separatist leader. On Thursday, the intermediaries paid another visit to the Armenian capital for further talks. The co-chairmen returned to Baku afterwards to complete their visit.
The visit aimed to enquire about the positions of the two countries' governments on the written proposals submitted by the Minsk Group in Madrid late in November, but the mediators had to provide explanations on the proposals instead.
The French co-chair said that considering the current positions of the conflicting sides, a need has arisen for the mediators to provide explanations concerning certain provisions of the document submitted to the parties.
"We have explained to the sides that our proposals contain no trap for anyone or ambiguity. These are the best proposals our countries have made so far to reach a compromise on the Garabagh settlement," the diplomat said.
Fassier said the sides would be given time to work on the proposals. He added that each party to the conflict was sincerely trying to strike a compromise.
Russian co-chairman Yuri Merzlyakov said the mediators had received new proposals during their talks in Baku and Yerevan that would form the basis for a new version of basic principles on the conflict settlement.
Merzlyakov said the status of Upper Garabagh was one of the elements in negotiations currently under consideration but he did not elaborate on progress in the discussions. The overall view of the co-chairs is that there has been no precedent so far for the balance of territorial integrity and self-determination of nations, and that Upper Garabagh could be the first such precedent in international experience.
Merzlyakov noted that one of the sides demands independence of the self-proclaimed republic, while the other one is opposed to this. "Each side interprets the important elements of the basic settlement principles its own way."
The mediators did not agree with the assumptions that the 2008 presidential elections in both countries could hamper the peace process. As an example of this, French co-chair Fassier cited Armenia's elections due in February, pointing out that negotiations have not been suspended although the vote is around the corner.
As for possible solution of the Garabagh problem through military action, the mediators said this would not be a thought-through option. The conflict will remain unresolved even if a fresh war takes place, they said.
US co-chairman Matthew Bryza did not attend the news conference as he left Baku earlier.
The intermediaries told the press after meeting Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian in Yerevan on Thursday that Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharian adhere to similar positions on basic principles of the conflict resolution. At the same time, they declined to cite timing for a final agreement between the conflicting sides.
"We don't want to set a precise timing for the signing of a peace accord and prefer to give the presidents as much time as is needed to thoroughly analyze each proposal, word or letter," Bryza said, adding that "we should wait as both presidents are moving in the right direction".
President Kocharian has said the Garabagh conflict may be settled on the basis of the Madrid proposals.
He said it was possible to find a solution based on the logic of the proposals, but added: "This document is not a final one and the next president will continue talks on the conflict settlement."
Kocharian, who has served two presidential terms, will step down after the election due in his country on February 19.
The Armenian leader was quoted by the Novosti Armenia news agency as saying that both sides had accepted the content of the basic principles but Armenia had divergent views on some provisions.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict for over a decade. Peace talks kicked off after a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but have brought little tangible result so far. Armenia continues to occupy Upper Garabagh and seven adjacent Azerbaijani districts.

False reports
US co-chairman, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza said Friday that his earlier statement on the Azeri-Turkish relations had been distorted.
Armenian media had quoted the diplomat as saying that he supported altering the "one nation, two states" principle, which Bryza termed as false.
"I never said that and have no right to say that. This is a policy of Turkey and Azerbaijan," the mediator said.
Bryza had reportedly told a recent international conference in Yerevan that Washington was working to normalize relations between Yerevan and Ankara without the involvement of third states, which means that Turkey should not put forth liberation of the occupied Azerbaijani territories as a pre-condition for this. The reports circulated that he backed changing the "one nation, two states" notion that is in place between Turkey and Azerbaijan. He also said that among tasks to be dealt with was opening the border between Armenia and Turkey.
Ankara demands that Armenia relinquish its claims on the "genocide" that allegedly happened in Ottoman Turkey during World War I. Moreover, Ankara backs Azerbaijan on the Garabagh settlement issue.
The Turkish-Armenian border has been closed since 1993 on Ankara's insistence.