 | Crucial Key West talks get started |
The crucial Azeri-Armenian peace talks, sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and brokered by the US Department of State, started in Key West, Florida yesterday.
The talks were opened by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.
The two presidents will, for the first time, be joined by co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. Other experts can also be involved in the negotiations.
Expressing his attitude toward a recent statement by MG co-chairs that the parties are as close to signing peace accord as they have never been before, President Aliyev said there were grounds for optimism.
Before leaving for the US Sunday, when asked whether there had been any serious changes in Russia's stance, the head of state said he had nothing specific to say.
He indicated, however, that Baku and Moscow had held very fruitful talks over Garabagh settlement lately.
In response to the question whether the Key West meeting would be followed by talks in Moscow, Heydar Aliyev said he had no information to that effect.
Regarding the possibility of Upper Garabagh Armenians taking part in the negotiations, the President said it was out of the question.
"I am not taking the head of the Azerbaijan community of Upper Garabagh Nizami Bahmanov along, in order not to be reciprocated by Armenians", he said.
In reply to the question if the recent visit of the Turkish Foreign Minister Ismayil Cem to the USA could take a toll on negotiated settlement of the Garabagh dispute, H. Aliyev said, "Turkey has always been sympathetic to Azerbaijan's cause. However, having noticed the keenness of certain circles in Turkey to thaw relations with Armenia, I notified Turkish government officials of this. This issue could have been raised in Mr. Cem's meetings in Washington".
Asked whether he is going to convey the suggestions of the Azerbaijan people over the conflict settlement, the head of state said there were no suggestions he was unaware of.
"But I know what people feel and I will certainly take that into consideration", he added.
Is there a possibility of a breakthrough in the deadlocked negotiations? H. Aliyev said he didn't know, but hoped there was.
In an answer to the question whether Russia, which has a military cooperation treaty with Armenia, would intervene should the war break out, the President said it was unclear at this point in time.
H. Aliyev reiterated that he would do his utmost for a peaceful resolution of the conflict and never agree to something that may hurt national interests of Azerbaijan.
He said agreement in the negotiations would only be the first stage in breaking the impasse, while peace is a more complex matter. It is necessary to pass several stages before the 12-year-long protracted conflict is resolved.
The peace accord must be signed not only by the two parties to the conflict, but also the super-states, the UN, OSCE, EU.
Peace talks background
Co-Chair shuttle diplomacy in 1997-98, with input from the parties, generated three proposals which remain on the table. Each party, however, at one time or other, rejected at least one of the proposals, thereby preventing negotiations from restarting within the OSCE framework.
The Minsk Group Co-Chairs declined to submit further proposals, prompting Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev and Armenian President Robert Kocharian to initiate a direct dialogue in April 1999.
The two presidents have met over a dozen times since then in pursuit of a settlement. Details of their talks remain confidential. At the same time, the Co-Chairs have worked separately with the presidents to facilitate their dialogue and to expand the range of confidence-building measures and other steps to reinforce the cease-fire.
The Co-Chairs have welcomed the direct dialogue as complementary to the multilateral diplomatic track. Nevertheless, they also recognize that Upper Garabagh authorities must be included in the process and the views of the population there taken into account.
The two presidents met most recently in Paris on January 26 and March 4-5 and, with personal diplomatic efforts by President Chirac, made some progress. The April 3-7 Key West talks will introduce a new format by having the presidents meet separately with the three Co-Chair mediators in a proximity format over the course of several days.
Conflict history
In the late l8th century, several khanates, including Garabagh, emerged in the south Caucasus to challenge the waning influence of the Ottoman Empire. After the Russian Empire eventually took control over the region in 1813, Azerbaijani Turks began to emigrate from Garabagh while the Armenian population of Upper Garabagh grew.
With the 1917 Russian Revolution, Azerbaijan and Armenia each declared independence and sought control over Karabakh during the Russian Civil War. In 1923, after the Bolshevik takeover of the Caucasus, Upper Garabagh (UG) was made an autonomous region within the Azerbaijani Soviet Republic. Soviet control temporarily quieted ethnic tensions.
By the 1980s, UG's population was about 75% ethnic Armenian, with most Azerbaijanis living in the district and city of Susha.
During the glasnost of the late 1980s, there was a push for a change in UG’'s status. In 1988, Armenian demonstrations against Azerbaijani rule broke out in both UG and Armenia, and the UG Supreme Soviet voted to secede from Azerbaijan.
In 1990, after violent episodes in UG, Baku, and Sumgait, Moscow declared a state of emergency in UG, sent troops to the region and forcibly occupied Baku.
In April 1991, Azerbaijani militia and Soviet forces targeted Armenian paramilitaries operating in UG; Moscow also deployed troops to Yerevan.
However, in September 1991 Moscow declared it would no longer support Azerbaijani military action in UG. Armenian militants then stepped up the violence. In October 1991, a referendum in UG approved independence.
The violence increased dramatically after the withdrawal of Soviet troops.
Over 30,000 people were killed in the fighting from 1992 to 1994. In May 1992, Armenian and Karabakhi forces seized Susha (the historical, Azerbaijani-populated capital of the region) and Lachin (thereby linking UG to Armenia). By October 1993 Armenian and Garabagh forces eventually succeeded in occupying almost all of UG, Lachin and large areas in southwestern Azerbaijan.
As Armenian and Garabagh forces advanced, hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani refugees fled to other parts of Azerbaijan. In 1993 the UN Security Council adopted resolutions calling for the cessation of hostilities, unimpeded access for international humanitarian relief efforts, and the eventual deployment of a peacekeeping force in the region.
The UN also called for immediate withdrawal of all ethnic Armenian forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Fighting continued, however, until May 1994 when Russia brokered a cease-fire.
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Issue No.14(196), 2001
Crucial Key West talks get startedPowell gets first chance at mediation with upper Garabagh talksPresident outraged by Iran’s minister‘Milosevic arrest must lead to his extradition to icty’, says COE PA presidentTurkey seeks to develop economic tiesEgypt‘s oil industry: overviewNews digestNationParliament newsEcologyNews in briefBusinessOil & gas news
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