Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 14
By Anakhanum Hidayatova – Trend:
OSCE Minsk Group cannot consider the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict without taking into account the South Caucasian countries’ interests, said Maksim Shevchenko, former member of Russia’s Public Chamber.
Shevchenko, an editor, journalist and presenter on television and radio in Russia, made the remarks in Baku Mar. 14 at a conference titled “The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: Origins, Peacemaking and the Role of Civil Society.”
“The proposals put forward by the OSCE Minsk Group don’t work,” Shevchenko said, adding South Caucasus is the shortest way to the Persian Gulf, for delivering energy resources to Europe, and a region where Europe meets the East.
“It is clear that Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan will not be able to withdraw troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories. It is easier for him to shoot himself, because he has been deceiving his people for 25 years,” Shevchenko said. “In addition, the OSCE MG co-chairing countries are selling weapons to both sides of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, believing that this will stop its escalation. This is surely a unique approach.”
As the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict escalates, it will draw Georgia, Russia, Turkey and Iran, and this may set fire to the entire Caucasus region, he said.
“So, the OSCE Minsk Group is a tool to deter a catastrophe, but not a way to settle the conflict,” Shevchenko said.
“It is necessary to create new tools to resolve the conflict,” he added.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
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