Regional states not cool to Karabakh conflict settlement

By AzerNews

Delay in the negotiations over the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict concerns not only the conflicting sides, but also the regional countries.

Armenia for many years has adhered to a non-constructive position in peace talks and thus prolongs a solution of the problem.

Besides, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the hostile environment caused by this problem hinder the development of the South Caucasus region as a whole.

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 OSCE 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.

The role of regional states in the conflict resolution is frequently mulled by other countries. The issue was recently discussed at a meeting of Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

During the meeting, which was held on Wednesday in Istanbul, Davutoglu said that Turkey wants peace to be restored in the South Caucasus.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry highlighted Turkey's role in the settlement of the conflict. He said Turkey is holding talks with the U.S. over the unresolved conflict.

Besides, Special Representative of the NATO Secretary General for the South Caucasus and Central Asia, James Appathurai, recently said at a meeting with a Georgian parliamentary delegation at the NATO headquarters in Brussels that Georgia could play a mediating role between Azerbaijan and Armenia on the settlement of the dispute.

Baku states that the conflict persists as a result of the non-constructive policy of Armenia and urges the international community to heighten pressure on Yerevan in order to achieve a solution.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov recently called on the international community to display an impartial and fair approach to the conflict settlement process.

Speaking at a meeting with US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Melia on Wednesday, Mammadyarov said that Yerevan evades talks by making various excuses.

The minister also emphasized that the OSCE Minsk Group should step up its efforts to arrive at a solution of the conflict and added that the prolongation of its settlement poses the biggest threat to regional stability.

Meanwhile, the Czech Republic expressed its readiness to participate in the "Prague Process" for peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and to play a constructive role in mediating the conflict settlement.

The remarks were made by Deputy Chairman of the Committee of Foreign Relations of the Czech Chamber of Deputies Jan Hamacek, who met with members of the Committee on Foreign Relations and Inter-parliamentary Relations of the Azerbaijani Parliament on Wednesday during his visit to Baku.

"This is a very complicated conflict, but nevertheless the status quo on Nagorno-Karabakh cannot last forever... The unresolved conflict is a big burden for Azerbaijan, which has to take care of refugees and displaced persons from the occupied territories," he said.

The status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be moved from the deadlock in compliance with UN resolutions, Hamacek noted.

The Prague Process is a series of negotiations over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministries.