Ireland, Dublin, Sept. 20 / Trend E.Ostapenko /
During its OSCE chairmanship in 2012 Ireland, as well as the current OSCE chair country Kazakhstan, will show willingness to do everything possible to advance a resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin believes.
"Given our experience in resolving the conflict in Northern Ireland, we believe that it would be useful to apply the principles that worked there to Nagorno Karabakh," he told Trend.
Ireland is often called the "Republic of Ireland," not to be confused with Northern Ireland, which is a territory within the United Kingdom. Ireland received independence from the UK only after World War I.
The conflict in Northern Ireland was caused by a dispute between the central British authorities and the local right-wing Catholic and national organizations regarding the status of the region.
The longlasting confrontation ended with the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty under which 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland gained independence from London, while the other six - within the province of Ulster - moved to the UK.
This conflict is still unresolved, although a formal resolution was reached in 1998 upon the signing of the Belfast Agreement. It provided opportunity for establishment of the Northern Ireland Assembly and transfer of certain state functions from London to Belfast.
Concerning the Nagorno Karabakh case, the conflict started in late 1980s between the two South-Caucasus states when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including Nagorno Karabakh and the seven surrounding districts.
Peace negotiations have been lasting since 1994 - the date of a ceasefire agreement signature. The mediators in this conflict is the OSCE Minsk Group under the co-chairmanship of France, Russia and the United States.
Minister Martin said the cases in Northern Ireland and Nagorno Karabakh are different, but a forthcoming analysis on the eve of the OSCE chairmanship will show more realistically how much the Irish experience can be useful for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at: [email protected]