OSCE MG seek intensified talks between Azerbaijani, Armenian presidents

/By AzerNews/

By Sara Rajabova

Though the Bern meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents hasn’t yielded the desirable results, some officials believe that holding of such a meeting was itself a positive sign for the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“As Ambassador James Warlick, the U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, has said, it was important for the presidents to talk face-to-face and clarify their positions. They discussed a range of issues, including violence along the contact line and Armenia-Azerbaijan border, and proposals regarding a settlement,” said U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Robert Cekuta.

The meeting between Presidents Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia took place on December 19 to discuss the ways of peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Cekuta told Trend that although there were no breakthroughs in Bern, it is important that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, tasked to mediate for peace in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and the sides recognized the value of the presidents’ dialogue.

He asserted that the co-chairs will work to bring them together again in the coming year. “The co-chairs will continue their work with the foreign ministers on proposals regarding a settlement, on measures to reduce the risk of violence, and on programs to promote dialogue between the communities of Nagorno-Karabakh,” Cekuta said.

The envoy further voiced support to the efforts of the co-chairs to help the sides reach a much-needed settlement to the conflict.

However, the Azerbaijani public is not satisfied with results of the meeting and the negotiation process as a whole as no progress was made for the peaceful settlement of the conflict.

Political analysts believe that such meeting brings no benefit to Azerbaijan, which suffers from the Armenian aggression over many years.

The peace talks, mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. through the OSCE Minsk Group on the basis of the Madrid Principles have been largely fruitless so far despite the efforts of the co-chair countries over 20 years.

Armenia still enjoys impunity despite its occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally-recognized territories and ethnic cleansing policy towards its neighbor.

The sides to the conflict currently hold talks based on the renewed Madrid principles, which envisage return of occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control, ensure the right of all internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their former places of residence, future determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh and etc.