Dennis Summut: “Not much was expected from the St Petersburg meeting and not much was achieved”

- How could you assess the June 6 meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents in Russian Saint Petersburg and what can it give to the process of the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?

- It was very important that the two presidents could meet so soon after the Election of Serzh Sargsyan as President of Armenia. President Ilham Aliyev and President Serzh Sargsyan now have a historic mission to make the peace process work and to achieve peace for future generations of Armenians and Azerbaijanis. I think both men have the capacity to achieve this historic mission.

I was asked in Azerbaijan if I felt that because President Sargsyan has his political roots in Karabakh that may make it more difficult for him to be a constructive partner to the peace negotiations. I do not think so. The fact that he has a good understanding of the problem will make finding a solution easier. The recent experience of Northern Ireland has shown us that even persons with hardline positions can, at the right moment, become the biggest advocates of peace.

Not much was expected from the St Petersburg meeting and not much was achieved. However the negotiations are back on track. Now what is needed is that they be speeded up and the process improved.

The OSCE Minsk process provides a good framework for the negotiations. However there are many ways in which it can be improved. And a sense of urgency needs to be introduced to the process. Time is on nobody’s side. The two sides have channels of communication. They need to use them efficiently.

- Since 2002 you and your organisation facilitated a process called the South Caucasus Parliamentary Initiative. How did this initiative start and what was achieved?

- The South Caucasus Parliamentary Initiative is a framework for dialogue, exchange of views and joint analysis established by an agreement between the parliaments of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia and facilitated by LINKS. We held many meetings from 2002 to 2007 and around a hundred pages of documents were discussed and approved. This is not a decision making framework. It is however a unique space for discussions that can be helpful in a number of situations, including in support of the work of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan on Karabakh. For this reason I think this initiative should continue.

- Why has no meeting of the Initiative taken place this year, and is there one planned soon?

- We have not had any meetings within the framework of the South Caucasus Parliamentary Initiative for the last ten months. This was a period of intense political activity in the South Caucasus, including a period of elections at least in Armenia and Georgia. I will be travelling to the three countries soon to discuss how we can continue the work. But of course the decision will depend not on us but on the three parliaments concerned.