Azernews.Az

VIENNA - Armenia is more responsible for delays in the process of settling the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, the outgoing OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) President Joao Soares has said.
Soares told the BBC’s Azerbaijani service that since he was about to step down from the post, he was sincerely expressing his personal views. He said there was a good opportunity to reach peace in the Garabagh conflict.
"There is such will both in the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents. On the Azerbaijani side, besides will, there is capability to do so," Soares said.
But he questioned the Armenian leader’s taking resolute steps toward a settlement to the long-standing dispute.
"After he was elected, he made a great effort. I can’t say whether or not he commands ample leverage among Armenia’s political circles to deliver on his intent. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has all this – the will and influence. Therefore, I see the problem on the Armenian side."
According to Soares, the formula for a conflict settlement since the peace outline called the Madrid principles was proposed is common knowledge. However, there are other factors that come into play. He said that though major steps were taken toward reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey in late 2009 – when two documents were signed to establish diplomatic relations and reopen the sealed borders between the two countries – challenges emerged with parliamentary approval of the documents afterwards. Moreover, there are problems in Yerevan’s domestic policies. Soares believes that the Armenian diaspora in Russia, Europe and the United States has a considerable clout in Armenia, and many agree that the diaspora is a factor complicating resolution of the Garabagh conflict.
The OSCE official said that if Armenia takes the needed steps, this will result in the reopening of its border with Turkey, which remains shut due to long-standing enmity.
"Certainly, they should also take their diaspora into consideration. But the Armenians who have lived away from Armenia prosperously for 30 years should not determine the policy in Yerevan. Though the proposal on a conflict settlement [Madrid Document] that is on the table is not optimal, it is good."
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.
Peace talks have been fruitless so far but are still ongoing. The Madrid Document, initially presented by the US, Russian and French mediators in the Spanish capital in November 2007, calls for "the return of the territories surrounding Upper Garabagh to Azerbaijani control." The outline also covered "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."