I am responsible for this policy: Matthew Bryza

Outgoing OSCE Minsk Group co-chair and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza clarified the mindset that regardless of the personalities of the co-chairs there are certain policies of France, Russian Federation and the United States of America, there is no room for the diplomat to maneuver in spite of the certain policy led by the state.

Matthew Bryza said he did not feel that some distant or impersonal machine was telling him what to do.

“First of all I would state that the individual diplomat has, at least from the United States, a lot of room for maneuver. In my case it was quite significant because I was responsible not only for our efforts in the Minsk Group but also for our overall policy toward South Caucasus as well as Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, and energy in Europe," he said.

"So I certainly did not feel that some distant or impersonal machine was telling me what U.S. policy is and then I had to operate according to a very narrow channel to implement that policy, because I was right in the middle of our effort to formulate the overall policy. I’m partially responsible for that policy," Bryza said.

“From my perspective, the way we conducted these negotiations was free of any sort of domestic political considerations whatsoever. We were fair to all parties and we were tough on all parties. We encouraged them to be reasonable and constructive at every turn. We didn’t pressure them, because that’s not appropriate. We’re mediators. But we encouraged them, and we used a remarkable degree of creativity as a unified team to help the parties move forward in a dramatic way, I would even say, over the course of the last three years," he added.

"So the Minsk Group has helped the two Presidents come very close to a breakthrough that will allow them to finalize a Framework Agreement for a lasting peace settlement, and of that I’m indeed proud and grateful to my colleagues for their teamwork and their constructiveness and their creativity. And it was the individuals, maybe present company excluded, who really did make a difference. There’s no way to reach an agreement if there isn’t a high degree of creativity and individual trust between human beings,” Bryza said.

/APA/