The American, French and Russian diplomats co-heading the OSCE Minsk Group said President Serzh Sarkisian formally agreed to meet his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliev in Moscow on July 17. They expect to secure Aliev’s final consent to what will be the sixth Armenian-Azerbaijani summit in just over year when they visit Baku on Thursday.
The group’s U.S. co-chair, Matthew Bryza, insisted that the two leaders made “significant progress” at their last talks held in Saint Petersburg and Prague. “I’m hopeful that we will see a continuation of the progress that we saw in Prague but really in Saint Petersburg,” he told RFE/RL.
Speaking at a joint news conference held by the mediating troika later in the day, Bernard Fassier, the top French negotiator, said that the conflicting parties have all but agreed on the most important of about 15 “basic principles” of Karabakh peace proposed by the co-chairs.
According to Fassier’s Russian colleague, Yuri Merzlyakov, those principles relate to Karabakh’s future status and the security of its predominantly Armenian population. “Now the matter is nearing completion to a great extent,” he said.
The mediators also gave a largely positive assessment of Aliev’s latest statements on the negotiating process made in a weekend interview with the Russian TV channel Vesti. Aliev stated in particular that Karabakh’s final status may never be ascertained even if the parties reach a framework peace agreement soon. He said the disputed region could therefore indefinitely have an “provisional status.”
“Agreement on the realization of the procedure for determining that [final] status will be reached later on,” confirmed Merzlyakov. “There is a notion of ‘delayed status.’”
Fassier described Aliev’s comments as a “step forward.” He argued that the Azerbaijani leader did not threaten to resolve the conflict by force.
“I hope that what’s happening is we are seeing President Aliev beginning to prepare the Azerbaijani people for further progress,” Bryza said, for his part. “I understand that certain elements of what President Aliev said in that interview weren’t entirely welcomed here in Armenia because they reflect Azerbaijan’s position. But if you compare what we said in this interview to what has been said in the past, I think you’ll see a shift in the tone.”
The group’s U.S. co-chair, Matthew Bryza, insisted that the two leaders made “significant progress” at their last talks held in Saint Petersburg and Prague. “I’m hopeful that we will see a continuation of the progress that we saw in Prague but really in Saint Petersburg,” he told RFE/RL.
Speaking at a joint news conference held by the mediating troika later in the day, Bernard Fassier, the top French negotiator, said that the conflicting parties have all but agreed on the most important of about 15 “basic principles” of Karabakh peace proposed by the co-chairs.
According to Fassier’s Russian colleague, Yuri Merzlyakov, those principles relate to Karabakh’s future status and the security of its predominantly Armenian population. “Now the matter is nearing completion to a great extent,” he said.
The mediators also gave a largely positive assessment of Aliev’s latest statements on the negotiating process made in a weekend interview with the Russian TV channel Vesti. Aliev stated in particular that Karabakh’s final status may never be ascertained even if the parties reach a framework peace agreement soon. He said the disputed region could therefore indefinitely have an “provisional status.”
“Agreement on the realization of the procedure for determining that [final] status will be reached later on,” confirmed Merzlyakov. “There is a notion of ‘delayed status.’”
Fassier described Aliev’s comments as a “step forward.” He argued that the Azerbaijani leader did not threaten to resolve the conflict by force.
“I hope that what’s happening is we are seeing President Aliev beginning to prepare the Azerbaijani people for further progress,” Bryza said, for his part. “I understand that certain elements of what President Aliev said in that interview weren’t entirely welcomed here in Armenia because they reflect Azerbaijan’s position. But if you compare what we said in this interview to what has been said in the past, I think you’ll see a shift in the tone.”