Did OSCE MG Mission reach its goal? Azerbaijan was highly satisfied with report on Karabakh

March 28, 2011 - 21:20 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijan was highly satisfied with the report of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs' Field Assessment Mission on Karabakh-adjacent territories, which might surprise anyone who’s ever been to Karabakh.

The situation described in the report does not match with the reality in the least. The document doesn’t say a word about the actively developing infrastructure of Artsakh as well as the development of economic, cultural and social sectors, instead citing awful details about the devastation and poverty reigning on these territories.

The OSCE MG co-chairs report on territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh cannot claim to be fully objective, as the Field Assessment Mission never visited NKR territories occupied by Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has already tired using one-sided reports for propaganda purposes, hampering decrease of tension in the region, Masis Mailyan, chairman of NKR Public Council for Foreign Policy and Security told PanARMENIAN.Net

Was OSCE MG trying to mollify Azerbaijan, who recently increased military rhetoric on a new war in Karabakh? Or was it trying to persuade it to delay war-related activities? Armenia’s positive assessment of a “mythical” report testifies to the fact. Now, one may infer that the mediators will promise Baku that Armenia will be pressured, after one, or two or tree or innumerate monitorings.

A question remains: how long will Azerbaijan believe in promises of mediators who are playing for time with declarations on a necessity of peaceful settlement and inadmissibility of the hostilities’ resumption?

As Artsakh officials believe, while working on Karabakh issue, OSCE MG must recall the precedent of Kosovo, which declared independence on 17 February 2008 and over the following days, a number of states (the United States, Turkey, Albania, Austria, Croatia, Germany, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Australia, Poland and others) announced their recognition. Currently, 75 UN states recognize the independence of Kosovo.