US calls for “bold steps” to make Karabakh peace

The United States deems that the time has come for the parties to the Karabakh conflict to commit themselves to peace negotiations. This was said by Ambassador James Warlick, the American co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, who spoke at a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace roundtable on Wednesday. 

In his speech entitled “Nagorno-Karabakh: The Keys to a Settlement”, Warlick emphasized that he did not speak for the co-chairs but that his message was “a statement of official U.S. government policy that guides our engagement as we help the parties find peace.”

“And peace is within reach. The sides have come to a point where their positions on the way forward are not that far apart. They have almost reached agreement on several occasions – most recently in 2011. And when they inevitably returned to the negotiating table after each failed round, the building blocks of the next “big idea” were similar to the last time,” he said.

“There is a body of principles, understandings, and documents already on the table that lay out a deal, and no one has suggested we abandon them. The challenge is to find a way to help the sides take that last, bold step forward to bridge their remaining differences and deliver the peace and stability that their populations deserve.”

Warlick suggested that the benefits of peace far outweigh the costs of continued stalemate for all sides – Armenia, Azerbaijan and the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. 

The negotiator, who assumed his current powers last September, reported on the most recent meeting of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in November 2013. “Since that time, we have met on ten separate occasions with one or both foreign ministers to keep the discussion alive. It is clear, however, that only the presidents have the ability to conclude a deal with such transformative consequences for their countries. It is the presidents who must take the bold steps needed to make peace. The United States has pressed both leaders to meet again soon and take advantage of this window of opportunity when peace is possible,” Warlick said.

The international mediator reiterated the set of basic principles on the basis of which the current negotiations are conducted. He also spoke about six major elements “that will have to be part of any peace agreement if it is to endure.” These include: Karabakh’s determining its final legal status through a mutually agreed and legally binding expression of will in the future, an interim status for the area, an Armenian withdrawal from territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, a corridor linking Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, the right of all IDPs and refugees to return to their former places of residence and international security guarantees that would include a peacekeeping operation. 

“The time has come for the sides to commit themselves to peace negotiations, building on the foundation of work done so far,” said Warlick, emphasizing that the co-chairs of the Minsk Group, which also involves Russia and France, “share a common interest in helping the sides reach a peaceful resolution.” 

“Of course, it is up to the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan to take the first step. They should consider measures, even unilateral ones, that will demonstrate their stated commitment to making progress, reducing tensions, and improving the atmosphere for negotiations,” he said, stressing that “Track II efforts to build people-to-people contacts between Azerbaijanis and Armenians are no less integral to a lasting settlement.” 

Bakudaily.az