Azernews.Az

The outgoing French co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh has said the settlement of the dispute complicates further "as time goes by", but "we should not lose hope" for reaching a solution.

Bernard Fassier, who has worked together with the US and Russian Minsk Group co-chairs during his tenure, told a news conference on a farewell visit to Baku Monday that the mediators would continue making an effort to reach progress in Karabakh settlement.

"There are positive sides to this process as well. In the past year and a half, the co-chairs crossed the Line of Contact [between the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops] five times. This is great progress," Fassier said. He said that as a result of the mediators’ efforts, peace talks were continued and a fresh war did not flare up. Moreover, he said, basic conflict settlement principles are now available in writing in order to begin drafting a peace accord.

Fassier added, however, that the conflict parties have not yet provided their consent to the proposed Karabakh settlement principles.

According to him, the OSCE Minsk Group would welcome any compromise between Baku and Yerevan.

"Even if the sides reach agreement outside the Minsk Group’s proposals, we will support this decision," he said.

Peace talks are underway on the basis of the Madrid principles, a peace outline proposed by the mediators. The Madrid Document covers a return of the territories surrounding Azerbaijan’s Nagorno Karabakh region, which have been occupied by Armenia since a 1990s war, to Azerbaijani control, a future determination of the region’s legal status and the right of the displaced persons to return home.

Commenting on criticism against the Minsk Group over the stalling Karabakh settlement, the outgoing French co-chair said it should not be criticized and that mediating conflicts is a complicated mission.

"Mediating such conflicts is a very difficult task, and it is extremely hard to reach agreement on all aspects [of the problem] between everyone involved in the negotiating process," Fassier said.

On the potential role of the UN Security Council in the Karabakh conflict resolution, Fassier said it is impossible to settle any conflict by means of "outside interference".

"People can’t be forced to make a decision they don’t want to make, and the only option here is to reach agreement between the sides on the basis of a compromise."

In October Azerbaijan was elected a non-permanent member of the UN SC for 2012-2013. Baku plans to raise the Karabakh conflict at the United Nations during the country’s membership.

Fassier also said meetings between the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities of Nagorno Karabakh were important for the conflict resolution.

"During my tenure I sensed that making preparations for peace is never enough. After so much blood was shed, it is impossible to eliminate the hatred [between the two nations] through negotiations alone. It is necessary to make peace between the people as well."

The Karabakh conflict emerged during the last few years of the Soviet Union. 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory, including the Nagorno Karabakh region, has been under Armenian occupation since the two South Caucasus republics signed a precarious cease-fire in 1994 following the Karabakh war, which claimed some 30,000 lives and displaced about a million Azerbaijanis. Peace talks have been largely fruitless so far.

Fassier is succeeded as the French Minsk Group co-chair by Jacques Faure, who embarks on his duties from January.