EU ‘may mediate’ Karabakh talks

The European Union may emerge as a new mediator if Russian-brokered talks fail to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, a senior Azerbaijani lawmaker has said.

“The problem may appear on the agenda of the U.N. Security Council in the event of no solution. Diplomatic attempts to resolve the stalemate will continue unless a war breaks out,” Rasim Musabayev, an Azeraijani deputy and member of parliament’s international affairs commission, told the Hürriyet Daily News in an interview late Wednesday. “Maybe the EU will emerge as a new mediator.”

The two foes, Armenia and Azerbaijan, have been negotiating the Madrid Principles, one of the proposed settlements to the Karabakh conflict, in talks mediated by Russia, France and the United States.

The two regional foes, Armenia and Azerbaijan, have been negotiating the Madrid Principles, one of the proposed peace settlements to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in talks mediated by Russia, France and the United States, the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

“We will either reach an agreement, or cross out the Madrid Principles,” said Musabayev, one of Azerbaijan’s leading political analysts. The latest round of talks failed because of a disagreement with Armenia over a vote on Karabakh’s status. Another meeting will take place by the end of this year, he said.

The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan met last Friday in Kazan, Russia, at a meeting brokered by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The failure of the peace summit was considered disappointing by the U.S. Azerbaijan to back Palestine’s independence

“Will we give up on our land just to make U.S. President [Barack] Obama happy?” asked the lawmaker. He said the stalemate stemmed from Armenia’s call for an immediate referendum on Karabakh’s independence. “Azerbaijan can never bow to this demand.”

Meanwhile, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas met Azerbaijani President İlham Aliyev earlier this week, seeking support for the recognition of Palestine as an independent state in the U.N. this fall. Musabayev said his country would support Palestine’s drive when considering U.N. Security Council resolutions.

“There is a rationale behind Azerbaijan’s establishing an independent state but there has been no resolution about Karabakh’s independence,” said the deputy.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will not be able to pay his first official visit to Azerbaijan after being re-elected as other regional matters remain an urgent priority for Ankara. Musabayev said a high-level strategic council established between Turkey and Azerbaijan is expected to convene this autumn under the leadership of Erdoğan and Aliyev.

Different from past practices in which newly elected Turkish prime ministers visited northern Cyprus and Azerbaijan, Erdoğan is expected to make the first official visit of his third term in office next month to Egypt due ongoing developments in the Arab world.


/Hurriyet Daily News/