Obama says it is time to restore peace in region
By Sara Rajabova
The newly appointed US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, James Warlick, is already in Baku and has been received by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and other senior officials.
On September 9 President Aliyev hosted the new co-chair of the Minsk Group, Azertag state news agency reported.
The sides discussed the current state of and prospects for the talks to settle the long-standing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The Minsk Group co-chair also handed over US President Barack Obama's letter to the Azerbaijani President.
"I would like to convey to you my full support for Ambassador James Warlick as the new U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group in connection with his first official visit to Baku," the letter said.
President Obama wrote that the recent appointment is a strong signal of the United States' enduring and unequivocal commitment to helping the sides reach a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The U.S. President expressed confidence that Warlick's extensive diplomatic experience and Azerbaijan's aspiration to gain achievements will give a new impetus to the co-chairmen's activity and the peace process overall.
"I support your efforts to take advantage of opportunities for direct dialogue with Armenia in the months ahead, and to avail yourself of the co-chairs` time and expertise to move beyond the current impasse in negotiations," the letter said.
Obama noted in the letter that it is time to restore peace in the region.
"With the outlines of a compromise already well established, now is the time for a renewed effort to bring peace to the region," the U.S. president said.
On September 9 Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev also received the US co-chair of the Minsk Group.
Minister Abiyev congratulated the co-chair with the new appointment and spoke about the current military-political situation in the region, the Defense Ministry told Trend news agency.
Providing detailed information about the causes of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Azerbaijani Defense Minister said that despite the fact that the Armenian policy of aggression has been ongoing for more than twenty years, the world community and especially the Minsk Group still has not come up with effective initiatives to resolve the conflict.
"Instead, the invader and the aggrieved party are equalized, and this fact is very sad. Though Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated its fair position on this conflict, we are witnessing an indifferent attitude," Abiyev said.
During the meeting, Abiyev also pointed out that the UN resolutions on the conflict have not yet been implemented and also stressed the obstacles posed by Section 907.
The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions calling for an Armenian pullout from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, but they have not been enforced to date.
Section 907 to the Freedom Support Act, which was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1992, bans direct aid to the Azerbaijani government. In October 24, 2001, the Senate granted the U.S. President the powers to waive Section 907. That waiver has been exercised every year since 2002.
According to Abiyev, the absence of strong and effective steps on settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict peacefully creates grounds for fueling the tension in the region.
"Azerbaijan did not invade anybody's territories and we are not going to give up an inch of land to anyone. There is only one way to a peaceful settlement of the conflict, and that is withdrawal of the Armenian Armed Forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. We do not imagine other terms," the defense minister said.
In turn, Warlick pledged to do his utmost to facilitate a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and added that the cooperation with Azerbaijan in connection with this issue will be intense.
The meeting was also attended by US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Richard Morningstar.
The US co-chair is paying a visit to the region in order to start his mediation mission over the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This is the first visit by Ambassador Warlick to the region as a co-chair.
The co-chair will also visit Armenia as well as Nagorno-Karabakh.
Warlick was appointed as the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair in August.
He most recently served as Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and lead negotiator for the Bilateral Security Agreement with Afghanistan. He served as Ambassador to Bulgaria from 2009-2012, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs from 2006 to 2009 and Director of the Office of European Security and Political Affairs from 2005 to 2006.
In December, Robert Bradtke completed his term as the U.S. Minsk Group co-chair. Ian Kelly was named as the U.S. co-chair on an interim basis on December 21, 2012, pending the appointment of a new permanent co-chair.
The U.S., along with Russia and France, has long been working to broker a solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through the Minsk Group, but their efforts have been largely fruitless so far.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.