Disagreement of Yerevan and Baku on Karabakh Settlement Principles Would Be Tragic Loss

PanARMENIAN.Net - "We have heard both sides say repeatedly that they have never before been so close to an agreement. It would be a tragically wasted opportunity for the two Presidents to let this window of opportunity close in 2006 without even the basic principles in place for a future peace agreement for Nagorno-Karabakh. As you know, election cycles are approaching, first in Armenia and then in Azerbaijan during 2007-2008," says the statement made by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs and submitted to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna June 22. "We have seen before the negative effect that national elections can have on negotiations, and we continue to believe that now is the time for the two Presidents to summon the political will to take a courageous step forward together toward peace. Mr. Chairman, as Co-Chairs, we have reached the limits of our creativity in the identification, formulation, and finalization of these principles. We do not believe additional alternatives advanced by the mediators through additional meetings with the sides will produce a different result.



We hope that the Permanent Council will join us in urging the parties to the conflict to reach an agreement as soon as possible based on the core principles we have recommended. If the two sides are unable to agree on those principles we have put forward, we believe it is now contingent upon them to work together to reach an alternative agreement that both find acceptable. We remain ready to assist. As mediators, however, we cannot make the difficult decisions for the parties. We think the parties would be well-served at this point by allowing their publics to engage in a robust discussion of the many viewpoints on these issues. We are confident that neither society wants renewed conflict, and we urge the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to work with their publics and to work with each other to formulate an agreement on core principles that both find acceptable. Ultimately, it is the two sides that will be held accountable by their peoples and by the international community if their actions lead to war and not peace," the statement says.