Karabagh Negotiation News

Azerbaijan postpones high-level U.S. visit over wording on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

By AIDA SULTANOVA

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) - Azerbaijan said Sunday that it postponed a high-level visit to the United States because of what it claimed were changes in U.S. wording describing its dispute with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh territory.

The Caspian Sea coast nation's Foreign Ministry warned that the issue "may become a serious impediment to further security-related cooperation between our countries" -- a possible reference to Azerbaijan's contribution to the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.

The government postponed the two-day visit for security talks, which was to have started Monday and to have included high-level officials from several ministries, because of "changes to the provisions" on Nagorno-Karabakh in the State Department's 2006 report on human rights abroad, a ministry statement said.

The changes "distort the essence of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict" and their introduction "puts in doubt the U.S. position of the 'honest broker' in the resolution of the conflict," the statement said.

It did not offer details, and officials were not available for comment after the statement's release.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a territory inside Azerbaijan that has been controlled by Armenian and local ethnic Armenian forces since a six-year war that ended in 1994. Tension remains high between Armenia and Azerbaijan, ex-Soviet republics in the Caucasus.

There was speculation in Azerbaijan that the government was angry at the absence, in the State Department's country report on human rights practices in Armenia, of a statement saying that Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijani territory occupied by Armenia.

The country report on Azerbaijan, posted on the State Department Web site, states that in 2006 "Armenia continued to occupy the Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding Azerbaijani territories" -- wording that is apparently acceptable to Azerbaijan.

The report on neighboring Armenia, however, says: "Armenian forces occupy large portions of Azerbaijani territory adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenian officials maintain that they do not 'occupy' Nagorno-Karabakh itself."

The Azerbaijani statement said resolution of the conflict "based on the territorial integrity of ... Azerbaijan, with Nagorno-Karabakh as its inalienable part, is a primary and foremost element" in its security cooperation with the United States.

The United States said its policy had not changed.

"Any interpretation that our policy regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has changed is not correct," State Department spokeswoman Nancy Beck said Sunday. She said the U.S. was aware of Azerbaijan's statement announcing the postponement and was in contact with its government.

"These talks are important and we look forward to them taking place at the earliest date," Beck said.

On Friday, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack also said there had been no change, adding: "The United States reaffirms its support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and holds that the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh is a matter of negotiations between the parties."

The United States, Russia and France, under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, have been encouraging Azerbaijan and Armenia to resolve the conflict for more than a decade.

OFFICIAL BAKU DISAGREES WITH VARDAN OSKANIAN'S STATEMENT SAYING THAT GUAM POLICY IMPEDES A KARABAG SETTLEMENT

BAKU, AZERPRESS - (April 21, 2007) "Officials in Baku fail to agree with the statement by Armenian Foreign Ministry Vardan Oskanian saying that "the single position of GUAM-member states in terms of "frozen" conflicts in the FSU-space impedes the basic principles [of a Karabag settlement].

" Oskanian expresses his bewilderment to the position of GUAM-member states, which, in his opinion, do not accept the principle " one decision for all " and at the same time, try to combine four conflicts. It is not correct, because no attempt is made to combine these conflicts," Hazar Ibrahim, the Spokesman for the Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry, told AzerPress in an interview.

" Tabling the question at the 61st session of UN General Assembly does not mean an attempt to repair these problems through this organization. It is due to specificity of the United Nations whose Charter says it shall deal with establishment of peace and security in both regional and international scale."

Ibrahim noted that in this connection " the United Nations should prosecute these subjects, and the final decision will be defined within the other format".

" It is fitting that here there is no attempt to predetermine an outcome of other conflicts. Namely, the United Nations should discuss this question, make conclusions, realize that these conflicts poses a threat, provide recommendations and present some mechanism, " the official underlined.

Hazar Ibrahim also expressed disagreement with Oskanian's statement, saying that "resolutions adopted at GUAM level as well as etc actions hamper the negotiating process to settle Upland Karabag conflict."

" His statement is fundamentally wrong, as the negotiation is a process, in which two parties try to find a solution in discussions by means of OSCE mg cochairs, if we speak of our case. And the mechanisms existing within any other organizations can potentially promote only, but not impede. In particular, the mechanism of the single universal organization cannot impede peace talks," the diplomat emphasized.

" If Armenia, the country - a full member of the United Nations - states that the mechanism existing there impedes negotiations, then it does contravene the hardpan of modern international law and international relations."

He went on saying that calling all these conflicts "frozen" would be incorrect, as they continue to pose potential threats to and risks for both regional and international security and consequently " the world community should understand necessity for prompt settlement." At the same time, Ibragim welcomed Oskanian's statement that each conflict has its specificity and therefore calls for special approach.

" It is natural that each conflict is unique and consequently all of them should be addressed individually. At the same time, there are universal norms and principles on the basis of which conflicts should be solved. One of these principles is the Helsinki Covenant once adopted at a conference on security and cooperation in Europe. It says that each country should show respect for the right of nations to self-determination, but within the norms of international law, which includes the principle of territorial integrity. In other words, self-determination is possible within the territorial integrity," the Azerbaijan official recapitulated.

Armenia Official:Territory Deal Close, Azerbaijan Less Upbeat

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP)--Armenia's foreign minister said Friday that his country was close to resolving a bitter dispute with Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, but Azerbaijani officials were less upbeat.

Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian, who met Thursday with his Azerbaijani counterpart, said the latest blueprint for a settlement was more realistic and balanced than previous proposals, and that the two sides had agreed on the majority of issues to be resolved.

"We are close to a resolution of the conflict," he said, but cautioned that it was still too early to say if Thursday's meeting with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov had brought any progress.

The two foreign ministers held talks on the sidelines of an energy summit of Black Sea country diplomats in Belgrade, Serbia.

Oskanian said lingering disagreements would have to be discussed between the countries' presidents, though a date for that meeting has yet to be scheduled.

"Only after that will it become clear whether the process is moving forward or not," he said, without specifying which issues were still unresolved.

Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous territory inside Azerbaijan, has been controlled by ethnic Armenian forces since a six-year war that ended with a shaky cease-fire in 1994. Tensions remain high between Armenia and Azerbaijan, former Soviet republics in the Caucasus.

The head of foreign relations department in Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's administration, Novruz Mammadov, cast doubt on Oskanian's comments, and suggested they could have been motivated by internal politics before parliamentary elections in Armenia.

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Khazar Ibrahim also was less upbeat, suggesting Thursday's talks were tense. "Azerbaijan always comes forth with ... constructive suggestions, while Armenia must put the ideas it announces into practice," he said. [ 20-04-07 1629GMT ]