Azerbaijani think-tank responds to John Kerry’s statement on Nagorno-Karabakh
By Sara Rajabova
US Secretary of State John Kerry acts on behalf of US national interests, the head of an Azerbaijani think-tank told Trend news agency on Friday. He was commenting on the latest statement of the Armenian lobby in the U.S. whereby it criticized Kerry's call for Turkey's increased role in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, once again showing its lack of interest in moving forward the stalled conflict settlement.
"As a congressman, Kerry had always been one of those who was supported by the Armenian diaspora and lobby," said Director of the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of Azerbaijan, Farhad Mammadov. "[But] as a Congressman Kerry was expressing the views of voters, but now he acts on behalf of the national interests of the United States."
Kerry stated in the House of Representatives on Thursday that Turkey would be a constructive player in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the Cyprus issues. "Turkey plays a constructive role in resolving the two disputes," he added.
According to Mammadov, the U.S. operates with Turkey's assistance in regions such as the Middle East, the Black Sea as well as the South Caucasus in accordance with its interests.
"We would like to believe that the strengthening of Turkey's role in the South Caucasus will be directly linked to the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict."
According to Mammadov, Turkey is indirectly involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution anyway. First, Turkey is one of the 11 members of the OSCE Minsk Group. Second, Turkey became one of the countries that punished Armenia by closing its border with the invader country, after the occupation of the Kalbajar region of Azerbaijan. So, that position of Turkey is not new for the U.S.
"To that end, if the United States supports Turkey in the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, we can only rejoice at this," Mammadov said.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against the neighboring country. Since a lengthy war between the two South Caucasus countries that displaced over a million Azerbaijanis and ended with the signing of a precarious cease-fire in 1994, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. Peace talks brokered by Minsk Group co-chairs representing the United States, Russia and France have been largely fruitless so far.
The negotiations are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles, also known as Basic Principles. The document envisions a return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control; determining the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh; a corridor linking Armenia to the region; and the right of all internally displaced persons to return home.