Azernews.Az

Following Russia`s military incursion into Georgia in August and its de-facto annexation of part of the South Caucasus republic`s territory, the United States has moved to speed up resolution of another regional dispute, the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict.
Matthew Bryza, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group that seeks to broker a Garabagh settlement, visited Baku and Yerevan in September on orders of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Bryza said he had been instructed by his government to step up efforts to finding a solution to the dispute.
The same message was delivered by US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, who visited the Azerbaijani capital last Wednesday. He said that after Russia`s military intervention in Georgia, Washington was seeking to achieve a settlement to the Garabagh problem as soon as possible.
On Friday, Negroponte held talks with Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Baku and reiterated this message. He said, after the meeting, that the U.S. now considers intensifying negotiations as pivotal to resolving the Garabagh conflict.
It is also indicative, noted observers, that after Russia`s incursion, a change has occurred in the US position on the Garabagh issue. For the first time, US officials are delivering a clear-cut message firmly advocating territorial integrity as a basis to resolving the conflict.
Negroponte told a news conference in Baku that the dispute should be resolved based upon territorial integrity, while taking into account other principles of international law. Apparently, noted observers, self-determination of nations, among other things, is implied by "other principles." In other words, Washington may believe that settling the Garabagh conflict is possible through the self-determination of Armenians of Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, an Azeri region currently under occupation, but on the condition that Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity is protected. This stance fully complies with Azerbaijan`s interests.
We recall that the United States voted against a resolution asserting Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity at the UN General Assembly on March 14, 2008.
Undoubtedly, Russian military actions have played a role in this altering of the US stance. If Washington fails to arduously assert the territorial integrity principle in Garabagh settlement, this would be inconsistent with its position on the latest conflict in Georgia. Thus, the recent developments in the South Caucasus have opened up opportunities for Azerbaijan to reach a solution on Garabagh. However, no matter how satisfied Baku currently is with the US position, the Russian factor remains in place. Moscow still has a major say in any proposed Garabagh settlement, and US attempts to remove the peace process from the Kremlin`s dominance may turn out to be futile. It is not accidental that, at about the same time a senior US diplomat arrived in Baku, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Yerevan where he met with Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian.
Nalbandian told the press, after meeting Lavrov on Friday, that his country remained committed to a strictly peaceful solution of the Garabagh conflict on the basis of the proposals of the Minsk Group co-chairs.
Nalbandian said Armenia supported Russia`s major contribution to promoting regional peace and cooperation.
The two ministers also reviewed developments unfolding in the region, bilateral relations, as well as economic cooperation and, in particular, the implementation of joint projects in the fields of fuel and energy, as well as transport.
The Russian minister told journalists in Yerevan that "persistent moving" toward a settlement to the Garabagh conflict was a key to reaching stability and cooperation in the South Caucasus region.
He said a great deal of work has been done to reach a solution and both sides have agreed to a number of provisions of principle, which were reflected in a document submitted by the co-chairs to the OSCE.
"Naturally, issues that remain to be agreed upon are still there, but there is a plethora of options to be addressed and to find a solution to these issues. I hope that the contacts planned within Garabagh settlement for the upcoming period will help us to move forward," Lavrov said.
As for Armenia, the intensification of US efforts in the peace process may not benefit it, as Yerevan would not agree to discussions about the importance of ensuring territorial integrity in the resolution of the Garabagh problem.
On the other hand, Russia has never asserted this principle in its statements. From this standpoint, at a time one of the conflicting sides - Russia`s ally Armenia - is essentially under Moscow`s influence, Washington`s efforts at reaching a solution in the quickest time possible are unlikely to produce any fruit.
US concern is quite understandable. Washington has witnessed how Moscow used one of the "frozen" conflicts in the region, notably, the brief war in Georgia`s rebel region of South Ossetia, in its favor. The threat that it could use the Garabagh conflict for the same purpose has always been apparent. Therefore, it is necessary to speed up the Garabagh settlement to deprive the Kremlin of one of the levers it could potentially use to assert full dominance in the volatile region.