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OSCE Chairman: Kazakhstan can give positive impetus to negotiation process on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict Materials 3 July 2010 13:54 (UTC +04:00)
Kazakhstan can give a positive impetus to the negotiation process on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Kazakhstan's State Secretary and Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev.
OSCE Chairman: Kazakhstan can give positive impetus to negotiation process on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Azerbaijan, Baku, July 3 / Trend V.Zhavoronkova /

Kazakhstan can give a positive impetus to the negotiation process on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Kazakhstan's State Secretary and Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev.

"We believe Kazakhstan as OSCE chair that has a common history with Azerbaijan and Armenia, understanding and knowledge of the history of the issue could give a positive impetus to the negotiation process, building confidence between Baku and Yerevan. Moreover, we also have an important resource as high prestige and credibility that our head of state enjoys in the parties to the conflict," Saudabayev said in an interview with Trend.

I have started my first visit as the OSCE Chairman from Azerbaijan and Armenia and this evidence to the attention that the Kazakh presidency gives to promoting settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Saudabayev said.  

Saudabayev believes continued failure to resolve the conflict most adversely affects the stability in the region, undermining the possibility of regional projects.

"I would like to note that we closely follow the negotiations and believe it is time to come to the solution that will reach a compromise," he said.

Saudabayev thinks that there is no alternative to the peaceful settlement of this conflict.

"Lasting peace can only be achieved through compromise. We support the peacemaking efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group, which carry out important work to create the conditions necessary to sustain the momentum of the negotiation process," Saudabayev said.

Saudabayev said it is very important that all three mediator states (France, Russia and the U.S.) demonstrate a sincere interest in resolving the conflict, another evidence of what has become of the three countries' presidents' statement at the G8 summit in Canada in June 2010.

The presidents of Russia, the United States and France issued a joint statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which called on the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to accelerate work on the Main principles of settlement of the conflict in order to begin drafting a Peace agreement.

"Currently, the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan should make one more step and finalize the Main principles in order to be able to begin peace agreement draft", - said in the statement of Dmitry Medvedev, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy, which they took as heads of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair states.

The statement noted that the heads of states - co-chairs of the Minsk Group have been considered as an important step towards the recognition by both parties of the fact that the settlement must be based on several principles, among which, returning of the occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, an interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh providing guarantees of security and self-government; corridor linking Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh. The final legal determination of future status of Nagorno-Karabakh "by a legally binding will of people, the right of all refugees and internal displaced persons to return to their former homes, international guarantees of security, including peacekeeping operations" is among these principles. These provisions are consistent with the basic items of the Madrid principles.

Sudabayev said the fact the Caucasus has played an important role in global processes, including energy security, is of no mall importance.

"Main flow of Caspian oil is transported through the region. Investors are not indifferent to the situation in the field of security and stability, which directly affects their plans on energy exports and energy price on world markets," he said.

Saudabayev said a security and stability in the South Caucasus, including the promotion of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, are the priorities of the Kazakh chairmanship in OSCE. Kazakhstan's chairmanship is ready for active mediation to restore peace and security, establishing a full-fledged regional cooperation in the region, he said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.

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