Fassier rules out possibility of Turkey's mediation in Karabakh process

PanARMENIAN.Net - Bernard Fassier of France, one of the three co-chairpersons of the OSCE Minsk Group, speaking with Today's Zaman, underlined that their primary goal was maintaining a "rapprochement" between the two sides. An eventual decision concerning the final status of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute could be made afterwards, Fassier said.



With each passing year, the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute is becoming more difficult, Fassier told Today's Zaman.

"I very much hope that a war does not occur," Fassier continued, stressing that last year's clashes between the two countries, in which 30 people were killed, prove there is still a risk of war.



In addition, incidents in March involving the use of guns and mortars brought the two countries to the brink of war, he said, adding: "Thank God we were able to stop the escalation of violence. If not, a new war might have erupted."

During the interview, Fassier also touched upon suggestions about whether Turkey would play a role in the Nagorno-Karabakh resolution process.



Recalling that Azerbaijan and Turkey consider themselves "one nation, two states," Fassier ruled out the possibility of Turkey's mediation in the process, indicating that Turkey was actually a party in the issue.



"Turkey's mediation in this process is not possible. Common sense demands this," he said, while reiterating that the Nagorno-Karabakh process and the normalization efforts between Ankara and Yerevan should be considered two independent processes. Fassier, nonetheless, called the two issues "two processes within the same regional area" and admitted that any progress in one of the two processes might have a "positive and useful" impact on the other process.