Troika issues Karabakh statement no. 3

by Emil Sanamyan

Published: Thursday May 26, 2011

Presidents of the United States, Russia and France during G8 summit in Deauville, France. French president's office

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Washington - Meeting at the summit of eight most influential countries of the world in Deauville, France, presidents Dmitry Medvedev, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy issued their third joint statement on the Karabakh conflict in as many years.

As in statements made during earlier G8 summits in 2009 and 2010, the troika of international mediators urged presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan "to demonstrate their political will by finalizing the Basic Principles" of settlement.

Serge Sargsian and Ilham Aliyev are expected to hold their eigth summit with participation of Russia's Medvedev in Kazan, Russia next month. They last met in Sochi, Russia in March of this year and previously in Astrakhan in October of 2010. In those meetings the parties agreed to investigate recurrent cease-fire violations and release servicemen and civilians held by each side, but those agreements remain mostly unfulfilled.

Reflecting recent difficulties in talks and in a departure from generally upbeat tone of two earlier statements, the May 26 statement noted that "further delay would only call into question the commitment of the sides to reach an agreement."

It made no mention of what consequences such determination might entail.

Armenia quickly welcomed the statement with foreign minister Eduard Nalbandian noting that "Armenia has always been in support of the settlement of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh through exclusively peaceful means and has repeatedly proven that in practice."

Nalbandian's statement went on to argue that "therefore, it is clear to whom is addressed the unequivocal message of the statement in this regard."

There was no immediate reaction from Baku, as foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov was in Indonesia for a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement, a grouping of 120 mostly third-world countries, which Azerbaijan abruptly joined this week. (In former Soviet space Belarus, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are also members of the movement; Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Ukraine have the status of observers.)

UPDATE: On May 27 Azerbaijani officials joined Armenia's foreign minister in giving an upbeat assessment to the statement.

The full statement of three presidents as released by The White House on May 26 is below:

Joint Statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict by Dmitry Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation, Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, and Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the French Republic at the Deauville Summit of the Eight,

May 26, 2011

We, the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group's Co-Chair countries -- France, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America -- are convinced the time has arrived for all the sides to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to take a decisive step towards a peaceful settlement.

We reiterate that only a negotiated settlement can lead to peace, stability, and reconciliation, opening opportunities for regional development and cooperation.  The use of force created the current situation of confrontation and instability.  Its use again would only bring more suffering and devastation, and would be condemned by the international community.  We strongly urge the leaders of the sides to prepare their populations for peace, not war.

As a result of efforts by the parties and the Co-Chair countries at all levels, significant progress has been made.  The latest version of the Basic Principles, as discussed in Sochi on March 5, lays a just and balanced foundation for the drafting of a comprehensive peace settlement.  This document, based on the Helsinki Final Act and elements outlined in our joint declarations in L'Aquila in July 2009 and Muskoka in June 2010, provides a way for all sides to move beyond the unacceptable status quo.

We therefore call upon the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to demonstrate their political will by finalizing the Basic Principles during their upcoming summit in June.  Further delay would only call into question the commitment of the sides to reach an agreement.  Once an agreement has been reached, we stand ready to witness the formal acceptance of these Principles, to assist in the drafting of the peace agreement, and then to support its implementation with our international partners.