I am very hopeful there will be no war: French co-chair

While the efforts undertaken by the OSCE Minsk Group, which mediates between Yerevan and Baku in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, have been somewhat successful, the French co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Bernard Fassier warns about the danger of a clash in the region unless there is a final settlement.

The French co-chair said about it in his interview with Today's Zaman.

Bernard Fassier said that the main purpose of the co-chairs was to support the process of rapprochement between the two sides. Ultimately, the decision on the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh could be considered later, Fassier said.

French Co-Chair noted that every year the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is becoming increasingly difficult.

“I hope very much that there will be no war,” Fassier said adding that the clashes between two countries last year killed 30 people, which, in turn, proves that there is a risk of a resumption of war.

Noting that the current OSCE mediation process has been going on for 15 years, Fassier said that “grievance” between Armenians and Azerbaijanis and the use of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as a tool for domestic policy are two main reasons delaying this process.

“It was always easy to maintain national unity pointing to its neighbor as the enemy,” Fassier said.

The co-chair said the conflict could have be resolved long ago if the parties had shown more political courage.

/ ArmInfo /