Azernews.Az

France should be replaced by the European Union as co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group brokering the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict, says a representative of an international group working to prevent worldwide conflicts.
"The EU could play a great role in facilitating the defusion of tension inside and around Upper Garabagh. When the chairmanship of the incumbent French representative in the EU is over, I would recommend transferring France`s position in the MG to an EU representative," the International Crisis Group project director for Europe, Sabin Frasier, said.
Armenia and Azerbaijan waged a war over the mountainous region in the early 1990s, which claimed some 30,000 lives and displaced about a million Azerbaijanis. Since then, Armenia has been occupying over 20 percent of Azerbaijan`s internationally recognized territory. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994.
The peace process is being mediated by the OSCE`s team of diplomats, called the Minsk Group, which is co-chaired by the United States and Russia.
Frasier said that, ideally, the three MG mediators should be high-ranking politicians, "if we are counting on any political influence, on their part, over the process."
On the other hand, it is illogical to expect that the Garabagh settlement will be achieved "from the outside", she said.
"Azerbaijan and Armenia, their political leaderships and the two nations, will ultimately have to accept compromise, but this will happen only when they come to a conclusion that a compromise is better than military action," the ICG representative said.
Frasier said the current formula of conflict resolution on the negotiating table "is the best we can get".
"This entails the return of Upper Garabagh and seven other Azerbaijani districts, a full withdrawal of [Armenian] troops from Azerbaijan, the return of refugees to all districts, including Upper Garabagh, normalization of the situation, and postponement of talks about Garabagh`s status until all people involved are able to fully participate in the democratic process. And only after the pullout of troops and the return of refugees begins, the deadlock in the negotiating process will be broken and tension will subside," Frasier said.
The lack of progress in the peace process by OSCE mediators has been repeatedly cited in the past, therefore, observers believe Frasier`s statement has validity. However, the reasons for the proposal to replace the French mediator with a representative of the 27-member EU are unclear. It remains vague how the EU will put forth a common stance on the Garabagh problem, given that the three countries co-chairing the MG have so far been unable to do so.