InternationalThe Maiendorf Declaration: reactions from Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Azerbaijan
Published: Saturday November 08, 2008
From left, Presidents Aliyev, Medvedev, and Sargsian on Nov. 2. Photolure.
Yerevan - The three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group on November 6 met in Vienna to discuss Russia's mediation effort in the Karabakh peace process and the results of the meeting of the presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia in Moscow. Matthew Bryza, the American co-chair, announced that the Moscow Declaration made it clear that henceforth negotiations will continue based on the Madrid Principles. "The issue of whether the Madrid Principles was on the agenda or not has been resolved with this declaration. All the efforts geared toward resolving this conflict from now on will be based upon the those founding principles," Mr. Bryza said.
Yuri Merzlyakov of the Russian Federation, Bernard Fassier of France, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Bryza, and Andrzej Kasprzyk, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, talked to journalists after their address to the OSCE Permanent Council. "There are personal factors and objective factors in the region that give us co-chairs a reason for some cautious optimism or realistic optimism," said Mr. Bryza.
"Among the personal factors, the November 2 Moscow meeting confirmed the constructive spirit of their first St Petersburg meeting last June. This constructive spirit allowed them to sign the first-ever declaration on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process," Mr. Fassier said. He cited discussions between Ankara and Yerevan among the positive factors.
Among the "objective factors," was the crisis in Georgia. The co-chairs said that Armenia felt the fragile character of their lines of communication for imports and exports through Georgia. Azerbaijan felt deeply the vulnerability of the so-called energy corridor through Georgia.
"The Moscow meeting, though prepared long in advance in a bilateral way, Russia-Armenia, Russia-Azerbaijan, nevertheless is in the framework in the Minsk Group co-chair countries' efforts of mediation," said Mr. Merzlyakov.
Mr. Kasprzyk noted that an estimated 25 people died this year on the front lines of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and highlighted that such incidents were detrimental to the peace process.
The Minsk Group co-chairs plan to visit the region in the weeks prior to the OSCE Ministerial Council, scheduled in Helsinki on December 4-5, to work with the parties to build on the recently established momentum and to try to find a mutually acceptable solution to the last remaining differences between them.
Does Karabakh get a say in its fate?
The tripartite declaration, signed by the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan on November 2 at Meiendorf Castle near Moscow, mediated by the president of Russia, is the first document following the 1994 ceasefire agreement to bear the signatures of the presidents of the two countries involved in the Karabakh conflict.
But the document is also the first since 1994 that does not bear the signature of the main party to the conflict - Nagorno-Karabakh. In 1994, Vladimir Kazimirov, who was the Russian mediator and the main proponent of stopping the bloodshed in Karabakh, at that time attached great importance to Stepanakert's involvement and signature on all documents. The Bishkek protocol and Moscow's agreement that were signed that year had the signatures of Karen Baburyan, the speaker of Nagorno-Karabakh's parliament and Samvel Babayan, the minister of defense.
The reactions to the Meiendorf declaration are different in Yerevan, Stepanakert, and Baku. Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian assesses the Dmitri Medvedev - Serge Sargsian - Ilham Aliyev meeting as successful and productive, since "the signing of the declaration will assist the future process of the negotiations and the political resolution of the Karabakh conflict, within the framework of the Minsk Group and the Madrid principals."
The opposition is worried. In an interview with A1+, Levon Ter-Petrossian, the first president of Armenia, said, "That document is simply the tip of the iceberg. Other, more detailed documents lie beneath it." Mr. Ter-Petrossian is concerned because the Madrid proposal stipulates that the harmonization of the two principles of territorial integrity and the self-determination of nations will be the basis for the Karabakh settlement. During his last public appearance at a political rally, Mr. Ter-Petrossian said that according to the Madrid principles, "Armenia would be forced to return most of the liberated territories outside of Nagorno-Karabakh, except for the Lachin corridor, to Azerbaijan."
The Moscow Declaration "speaks of the necessity of resolving the Karabakh issue through the direct dialogue underway between Azerbaijan and Armenia. De facto, a new formula is being set for the conflicting sides. This declaration buries the decision adopted at the OSCE 1994 Budapest summit, where NKR was recognized as the third legitimate side in the conflict. This means that NKR will not have a role in the negotiation processes that will determine its fate," said Mr. Ter-Petrossian.
The first president underscored that with Mr. Sargsian's and Mr. Aliyev's signatures under the Meiendorf declaration, "the final stage of the settlement of the Karabakh conflict has been announced."
On October 25, in an interview with Armenia's Public TV, Mr. Sargsian confirmed that the resolution of the Karabakh conflict has entered a new active stage. "The settlement of the Karabakh issue is possible if Azerbaijan recognizes the right for self-determination of the people of NKR; if NKR has a land border with Armenia, and international organizations and leading countries guarantee the safety of the people of Karabakh," said Mr. Sargsian.
Stepanakert is not satisfied
Georgi Petrossian, the foreign minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, said that the meeting at Meiendorf was an attempt to clarify the respective positions of Armenia and Azerbaijan through political means, taking into consideration the changes in the region after the events of August.
