OSCE MG Hopeful Yerevan and Baku Will Teach Agreement

PanARMENIAN.Net - "Our deputy ministers proposed to Presidents Aliyev and Kocharian a set of core principles that we believe are fair, balanced, workable, and that could pave the way for the two sides to draft a far-reaching settlement agreement. We continue to believe in these principles, and we urge the Presidents to embrace them as the basis for an agreement," says the statement made by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs and submitted to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna June 22. "Unfortunately, the Presidents chose not to reach such an agreement in Bucharest. As mediators in this process, we will not breach the confidentiality of their sensitive diplomatic dialogue, as we continue to hope that they will reach an agreement.



At this juncture, though, it is our responsibility to you, Mr. Chairman, to this Council that has provided the funding for a very intensive series of negotiations, to the international community, and - perhaps most importantly - to the publics in Armenia and Azerbaijan, to acquaint you with the basic principles that we have put on the table for the consideration of the two Presidents. We note that the principles the Co-Chair countries proposed to the two Presidents were not developed in a vacuum, but follow on to nine years of detailed proposals that have been advanced by our predecessors. Even though 3 those proposals were not accepted by the parties, that work of our predecessors gave us important insights and foundations. Our approach has been a modified one: we have not tried to solve all aspects of the conflict in one phase. Instead, our principles seek to achieve a major degree of progress but defer some very difficult issues to the future and envision further negotiations.



In sum, they try to solve - in a practical, balanced way - what is immediately solvable. These principles include the phased redeployment of Armenian troops from Azerbaijani territories around Nagorno-Karabakh, with special modalities for Kelbajar and Lachin districts. Demilitarization of those territories would follow. A referendum or population vote would be agreed, at an unspecified future date, to determine the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh. The sides would commit to further negotiations to define the timing and modalities of such a referendum or population vote. Certain interim arrangements for Nagorno-Karabakh would allow for interaction with providers of international assistance. An international peacekeeping force would be deployed. A joint commission would be created to implement the agreement. International financial assistance would be made available for demining, reconstruction, and resettlement of internally displaced persons in the formerly occupied territories and the war-affected regions of Nagorno-Karabakh.



The sides would renounce the use or threat of use of force, and international and bilateral security guarantees and assurances would be put in place. We note with respect to the idea of a referendum or population vote to determine the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh that such a vote would be the product of a negotiated agreement between the two sides. Suitable pre-conditions for such a vote would have to be achieved so that the vote would take place in a non-coercive environment in which well-informed citizens have had ample opportunity to consider their positions after a vigorous debate in the public arena," says the statement.