Contributors

Monday, January 29, 2007

Statement of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group

Baku/Yerevan – January 29, 2007


After four days of meetings, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Ambassador Yuri Merzylakov – Russian Federation; Ambassador Bernard Fassier – France; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza – United States) are encouraged by the constructive approach of the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan as they seek to finalize a set of basic principles for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Russian Federation Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hosted Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov for talks facilitated by the Co-Chairs in Moscow on Tuesday, January 23. The Co-Chairs met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Wednesday, January 24. On Thursday, January 25, they traveled to Nagorno-Karabakh to meet with NK leader Arkady Ghukasian. They met with Armenian President Robert Kocharian in Yerevan on Friday, January 26.

The Co-Chairs appreciate the efforts of all the interlocutors they met during the week. It is the responsibility of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, with the assistance of the Co-Chairs, to find a lasting, peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The presidents are defending their national interests vigorously, and they are doing so in a way that allows the peace process to continue moving forward.

The Co-Chairs urge all parties to sustain this momentum in the negotiations and to prepare their publics for the necessary compromises. At the same time, the Co-Chairs urge continued pursuit of confidence-building measures and maintenance of the ceasefire to increase the level of trust and understanding between the sides.

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Three answers to Boris:

- No, I do not mind that at all. In fact, we are glad to have you here.

- Yes, I agree. Yet, you are misguided in one important aspect, which is peace as the final goal, not one of the elements of the solution. Unlike Armenia, which controls up to 20% of Azerbaijan as a result of armed aggression and continues, inter alia, to develop its natural resources, we do not and can not allow ourselves to be dragged into time-killing scenarios. Diplomatic efforts continue to be high priority for Azerbaijan, but our right for the restoration of territorial sovereignty is even higher.

- Now, here I am puzzled. Just what do you mean by the ofstates being "different"? Would you elaborate, please? You may be getting distorted info on whatever I have said.

As for diplomatic norms of behavior... Was it myself who suggested that the other side's reps should undergo psychological treatment? Was it me who mocked and ridiculed suffering of numerous refugees and displaced as a "PR campaign"? I honestly believe I have never overstepped the line, unlike Mr. Karapetyan & Co.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Best,

TT
Thanks a million for your kind words, everyone! First, answering the question of "why English". Let's get real: how many Westerners, including serious political observers and decison-makers can one hope to attract by doing discussions in his/her mother tongue, as long as it is not English?

Now, to the The Issue. NK. First things first. Let's re-iterate Azerbaijan's approach towards the process. We view resolution as a stage-package one. First stage would consist of 8 or9 components, including withdrawal of the occupationsl forces from all terrritories of Azerbaijan around NK, de-mining, return of the IDPs, restoration of communications, security and confidence-building measures, etc., with the second embracing definition of the legal status of NK per se as a result of inclusive, constitutional, democratic process. In between those is restoration of the pre-war ethnic composition of the NK population.

Now, to the question on "Armenian settlement". It's a pure PR move, and not very good at that. Well, how low can you go? And the main thing - it's not effective.

Tahir and Khazar

Friday, January 26, 2007

"If you don't know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere", Henry Kissinger






So therefore, it is crucial to know the road you go, the obstacles you have, and more importantly: if the road is the right one. All these dictate which tools to utilize to make sure you choose the right path and complete it.



For these reasons, we would like to discuss the following:






  • What are Azerbaijan's foreign policy priorities (it means not only the stated ones, but also those perceived by the people - and difference between the two);

  • What are obstacles in a way of achieving those priorities (again both real and imagined).

Tahir and Khazar




Security challenges in the South Caucasus?!

· Protracted conflicts in the region undermine the overall security environment. They lead to arms race, socio-economic burden for the Governments, and human right problems. The conflicts divert the efforts from the region-oriented projects for the sake of the people’s prosperity to the clashes, which drive the region apart;

· External pressures by the neighboring countries lead to the complicated geopolitical circumstances, which may frighten foreign investment and impede democratization processes. Even though the recent time pressures are mostly of the economic nature (e.g. rise in gas prices), some military-related actions by Iran on and over the Caspian took place in 2001 and 2002 (warship and aircraft penetrations);

· Unresolved status of the Caspian sea keeps the regional inter-state relations tense and prevent overwhelming development of the existing opportunities. The main issue remains positions of Iran and Turkmenistan, who do not want to join other littoral states in the medium line-resolution;

· Asymmetric threats of terrorism, WMD proliferation, drugs, human and other trafficking divert resources from the social projects to fighting these menaces. The existence of the grey zones as a result of the protracted conflicts creates favorable conditions for flourishing these very dangerous activities;

· Secure transportation of the energy resources to the world markets may bring needed revenues for the development of the region and will diversify energy supplies to the European markets. There were many warnings before and during construction of BTC and BTE pipelines, and problems in proper functioning of these pipelines through attacks, sabotage or other actions can harm both regional and European interests;

· EU-Azerbaijan relations should develop in fighting all afore-mentioned challenges in close cooperation with other organizations and countries. It is important to concert the efforts with NATO, OSCE, Council of Europe, as well as individual countries, including United States, Turkey, and Russia.

Tahir and Khazar
The blog is launched:

Why now?

· Energy security issues are looming in the world today and South Caucasus and Central Asia are among the major puzzle pieces;
· Global efforts on fighting terrorism, WMD proliferation and other contemporary threats attracted lots of attention to the region;
· The region is turning out to be on the crossroad of the East-West and North-South transport corridors;
· The region is on the crossroads of civilizations;
· Simply… it can be late tomorrow

Why Azerbaijan?

· Azerbaijan has been turning into the hub for the energy supply and transportation routes; fighting contemporary security threats, risks and challenges; and intercultural dialogues.

Tahir and Khazar