New hostilities in Karabakh would spell disaster for the whole region

July 22, 2010 - 13:27 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Even though Armenia does not aspire to NATO membership, its cooperation with the Alliance is developing very well, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski believes.

“I could mention here collaboration in the framework of the Partnership for Peace, the recent favorable assessment of the Individual Partnership Action Plan and the successful reforms in the sphere of security and defense, assisted by NATO experts. The assignment last January of forty Armenian troops to the stabilization mission in Afghanistan reflects Armenia’s close cooperation with NATO. The professionalism of the Armenian unit, serving in northern Afghanistan, has received high marks from the operation command,” Radoslaw Sikorski stated.

“The most promising areas of cooperation – including training, suppression of terrorism and information policy – were identified during the visit to Armenia last November by Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich. Poland is eager to share its experience relating to the transformation and professionalization of its armed forces and creation of a qualitatively new system of defense,” the Minister pointed out.

“NATO and the European Union are committed to an exclusively peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, which should be achieved by the parties to the conflict reaching compromise. We believe the OSCE Minsk Group provides a good framework for finding a solution. Furthermore, both NATO and the European Union have repeatedly denounced violations of the ceasefire and any warlike rhetoric. The European Union consistently underlines that the resumption of hostilities would threaten stability in the entire region and undermine the various projects implemented in collaboration with countries in the Caucasus. So, the Union’s position regarding the conflict is crystal clear.”

“The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict threatens security and stability in the entire region. Though the 1994 ceasefire is generally respected – despite occasional armed incidents – there is always the risk new hostilities. That would spell disaster for the whole region. Observance of the ceasefire is a fundamental precondition for the continuation of the peace talks under the Minsk Group auspices. However, the ceasefire is not an end in itself since it does not resolve the problem. We need a breakthrough in the peace talks that have dragged on for many years. That won’t be possible without a compromise by Yerevan and Baku. I am convinced that a solution – if only partial and provisional – is in the interest of all concerned,” Radoslaw Sikorski stressed.