Peacekeepers in Garabagh conflict zone to act as observers - US negotiator
Peacekeeping forces in the zone of the Upper
(Nagorno) Garabagh conflict will, rather, be fulfilling an
observation mission, Novosti Armenii news agency quoted the US
negotiator as saying.
"As co-chairs, we suggest that they [peacekeepers] be unarmed, fulfill the tasks of observers and not be able to impose peace [on the conflicting sides]," Matthew Bryza, who co-chairs the OSCE Minsk Group, a team of US, Russian and French diplomats brokering the peace process, said in the Armenian capital Yerevan on Friday.
Bryza believes that "the experience of Kosovo and Bosnia shows that peacekeeping forces are unable to prevent armed conflict if one of the conflicting sides seeks to do so." Therefore, he pointed out the importance of developing a peaceful settlement plan that would suit all sides involved and prevent conflict from flaring up anew.
Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but Armenia continues to occupy Upper Garabagh and seven other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law. Despite numerous rounds of OSCE-brokered negotiations, peace talks have been fruitless so far and refugees remain stranded. Baku says the occupied districts must be freed and Azerbaijani refugees displaced during the armed conflict in the early 1990s returned home, and only after that could the status of Upper Garabagh be determined within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
Further, the US co-chairman noted that the parties will select the composition of peacekeeping forces on their own and will reserve the right of veto on the involvement of the armed forces of any given country.
Bryza also emphasized that Washington`s mediation in the Garabagh settlement aims to ensure stability and security in the turbulent region.
He said Upper Garabagh will be initially granted an interim status, while the final status will be determined afterwards through a referendum. "During the referendum, a balance will be preserved between the Armenian and Azeri populations in accordance with the latest census conducted in the USSR."
Bryza said resolution of the Garabagh conflict is to dwell upon the provisions of the Helsinki Final Act, i.e. non-use of force, self-determination of nations and territorial integrity.
"These principles may actually contradict one another, but we believe that reaching agreement is possible based on these very principles, which were asserted in the updated Madrid document."
The basic principles for a negotiated settlement of the long-standing dispute were submitted by the mediators to Baku and Yerevan in the Spanish capital in November 2007. The principles called for in the proposed peace outline include "the return of the territories surrounding Upper Garabagh to Azerbaijani control and an interim status for Upper Garabagh providing guarantees for security and self-government." It also embraced "a corridor linking Armenia to Upper Garabagh" as well as a future determination of the final legal status of Upper Garabagh "through a legally binding expression of will" and the right of "internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their former places of residence."
Armtoday news agency said that, according to the US mediator, the return of the seven districts around Upper Garabagh reflects the principle of Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity.
"President Ilham Aliyev has already stated that five of the districts will be returned straight away, while the remaining two districts - within five years or more. As for the status of Upper Garabagh, it will be determined at the point when the sides are ready for this, and it`s impossible to cite a precise timing now.
"Furthermore, a special security regime will be in place stipulating that heavy-duty artillery which could pose a threat of a resumption of hostilities will not be deployed in the territory of Upper Garabagh," Bryza concluded.
"As co-chairs, we suggest that they [peacekeepers] be unarmed, fulfill the tasks of observers and not be able to impose peace [on the conflicting sides]," Matthew Bryza, who co-chairs the OSCE Minsk Group, a team of US, Russian and French diplomats brokering the peace process, said in the Armenian capital Yerevan on Friday.
Bryza believes that "the experience of Kosovo and Bosnia shows that peacekeeping forces are unable to prevent armed conflict if one of the conflicting sides seeks to do so." Therefore, he pointed out the importance of developing a peaceful settlement plan that would suit all sides involved and prevent conflict from flaring up anew.
Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but Armenia continues to occupy Upper Garabagh and seven other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law. Despite numerous rounds of OSCE-brokered negotiations, peace talks have been fruitless so far and refugees remain stranded. Baku says the occupied districts must be freed and Azerbaijani refugees displaced during the armed conflict in the early 1990s returned home, and only after that could the status of Upper Garabagh be determined within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
Further, the US co-chairman noted that the parties will select the composition of peacekeeping forces on their own and will reserve the right of veto on the involvement of the armed forces of any given country.
Bryza also emphasized that Washington`s mediation in the Garabagh settlement aims to ensure stability and security in the turbulent region.
He said Upper Garabagh will be initially granted an interim status, while the final status will be determined afterwards through a referendum. "During the referendum, a balance will be preserved between the Armenian and Azeri populations in accordance with the latest census conducted in the USSR."
Bryza said resolution of the Garabagh conflict is to dwell upon the provisions of the Helsinki Final Act, i.e. non-use of force, self-determination of nations and territorial integrity.
"These principles may actually contradict one another, but we believe that reaching agreement is possible based on these very principles, which were asserted in the updated Madrid document."
The basic principles for a negotiated settlement of the long-standing dispute were submitted by the mediators to Baku and Yerevan in the Spanish capital in November 2007. The principles called for in the proposed peace outline include "the return of the territories surrounding Upper Garabagh to Azerbaijani control and an interim status for Upper Garabagh providing guarantees for security and self-government." It also embraced "a corridor linking Armenia to Upper Garabagh" as well as a future determination of the final legal status of Upper Garabagh "through a legally binding expression of will" and the right of "internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their former places of residence."
Armtoday news agency said that, according to the US mediator, the return of the seven districts around Upper Garabagh reflects the principle of Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity.
"President Ilham Aliyev has already stated that five of the districts will be returned straight away, while the remaining two districts - within five years or more. As for the status of Upper Garabagh, it will be determined at the point when the sides are ready for this, and it`s impossible to cite a precise timing now.
"Furthermore, a special security regime will be in place stipulating that heavy-duty artillery which could pose a threat of a resumption of hostilities will not be deployed in the territory of Upper Garabagh," Bryza concluded.
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