Kasprzyk: "No agreement on all of the elements of the negotiating process means no result has been achived yet"

How long have you been serving as personal representative of OSCE Chairman-in-Office? What does the monitoring of the front line serve? Do you warn the sides of the monitoring in advance?

I have been Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office since 1996. The period of my mandate is one year. Foreign Minister of the country that chairs OSCE is the chairman of the organization. Every man that chairs the OSCE considers my mandate satisfactory, and so I have been personal representative of 12 chairmen so far. Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos is the OSCE Chairman-in-Office at present. As to the monitoring held by OSCE on contact line of the troops in Armenia-Azerbaijan border I must say that this monitoring coincides with most issues included in my mandate. Monitoring – is a means of confidence. The monitoring that I hold can be considered a means of trust from military aspect. The monitoring is held twice a month and all the members of our team participate in it. My team has five members. I try to participate in the monitoring personally. At least two members of my mission visit both sides of the contact line of troops. We address the servicemen of both sides, express our intention and show the points we want to monitor. After getting agreement and defining the person who will accompany us, we go to the area. Choosing the area depends on the situation. For example, we have a report that there has been skirmish, losses etc. Then we try to hold talks with the staff, clarify the situation and prevent the skirmish. I think monitoring is useful.

Are there many incidents during monitoring?

Almost no incident happened during monitoring. We faced incidents for four or five times during our activity. We were fired at, and we made a decision to stop the process for the security of the participants. We demanded report on the incident as the sides gave us a guarantee of security.

Who finances your mission – the parties to the conflict or the OSCE?

Our mission is financed by the OSCE. My mission has a small budget.

Is the OSCE Chairman-in-Office regularly informed of the situation in the conflicting zone?

- To inform the OSCE Chairman-in-Office of the situation in Nagorno Karabakh is one of my duties. I regularly inform the OSCE of the current state of talks. OSCE Chairman-in-Office should be regularly informed of current events. I draw up a report every two months and submit to all OSCE members.

When will the OSCE Chairman-in-Office visit the region?

OSCE chairman-in-office, Miguel Angel Moratinos' visit has been coordinated, but the date has not been fixed yet.

Which city will the Foreign Ministers (Armenian and Azerbaijani) meet in?

We will consult with OSCE Minsk group co-chairs tomorrow and the day after tomorrow in Paris. Further measures, as well as Mammadyarov and Oskanyan’s meeting will be specified there.

Can the Presidents meet after this meeting?

Certainly, the meeting of the Foreign Ministers bear preparatory character for the meeting of the Presidents, but the goal is not only this. The aim of foreign ministers' meeting is to succeed in negotiating process and discuss the proposals of the mediators. The meeting of the Presidents is planned when the sides consider it important. But we should not think about the Presidents' meeting after every meeting of the ministers. Last year, the Presidents met for three times, but the ministers more.

How many elements of the negotiating process remained uncoordinated? Matthew Bryza notes that some technical elements remain but Yuri Merzlyakov says important elements have not been coordinated yet…

Since all of the elements of the negotiations have not been coordinated, it means there is no result. The co-chairs can specify the importance of the issue in different ways. I think we have achieved some progress, the parties to the conflict are close to some issues discussed in the frame of the Prague process. The parties do not come to common point on all issues. I hope the next meeting will help the foreign ministers come to an understanding.

Azerbaijani and Armenian societies are called to be ready for compromises. What compromises do they mean?

Half of the negotiating process is left behind. If we demonstrate political will on all political issues, then we can demonstrate our will in the settlement of other issues. People should support the results of the negotiations. Otherwise, the presidents will have difficulties to take any measures. The people should understand that why the parties came to this agreement. Sometimes it is difficult to detail the issues. Once, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian said that they would prepare their people to agreement if all the elements of the negotiations are specified. The co-chairs consider that it is necessary to explain the people that the compromises are inevitable and which of them are worth to be done. Straining of the situation should be avoided. A settlement plan can be mentioned if these principles are obeyed.

Can Kosovo variant be precedent for the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict?

I consider that it is not possible to apply the same way of the settlement of the conflict, comparing historical situations of two nations. It is impossible. The mentalities and geographical locations differ. It is necessary to take it into account.

How do you asses the meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian Defense Ministers in June last year which was organized at your initiative?

Their meeting was very fruitful, and it covered the discussions on the ceasefire. This meeting influenced the situation in contact lines, after it no violation of ceasefire and incident in monitoring of contact lines recorded. Now I think there is no need for defense ministers to meet, but if they want I can assist this meeting.

It is interesting whether Andrzej Kasprzyk is a serviceman by profession?

I do not have so much military experience and it is limited by training held once in a week. I began my career in the composition of observer committee in South Vietnam and then I worked as military observer. Beside, I worked in Polish Embassy in Havana, in Mozambique and other countries. There are servicemen in my group that I rely on and they help me to implement my mission.

Aren't you tired of your work? Do you think about giving up your mission?

I like the Caucasus, Caucasians. Though Caucasian people differ, they are closely related. I like Azerbaijani culture and also "Ali and Nino" novel. I want peace and safety to be established in these regions like in Baltic States. We can speed up this process by account of Azerbaijan's resources. These conflicts are obstacle to the development of the region. I would like to do my best for the Caucasus and then leave my post. APA