James Warlick: There is a risk of escalation of the conflict
Interfax agency interviewed the OSCE Minsk Group U.S. Co-chair James Warlick: - Are there concrete terms to come to an agreement, or the NK issue resolution may take years? -We expect that the resolution will not take years, but of course, we shouldn’t expect sudden breakthrough in this issue. The negotiations need time and numerous discussions. But we have a route to move forward; there are clear offers. Presidents are involved in that issue. I cannot predict whether we will come to an agreement tomorrow, in a week or in a month, but if the Presidents show political will to move forward, there are all the elements for the resolution. -Which is the ideal scenario of the NK issue resolution for the USA? -One that will be acceptable both for the Russian side and the French side. The attempts to reach a peaceful resolution have been delayed for a very long time and have taken much effort. In more than 20 years, too many people have been killed. We have conditions for the resolution. The ideal resolution for us implies absence of winners or losers; it must be beneficial for both sides. -Don’t you think that for some interests this conflict is frozen and then heated up again from time to time? -Many people call it a frozen conflict, but as you can see especially in the recent period, it isn’t like that. It is a very active conflict. At the beginning of April we saw how dangerous it can be. Several years ago when I assumed my post, snipers were the major danger. And I regret to say that so many people have been killed by snipers. Today the situation is more dangerous, as we can see usage of missiles and heavy armament. I think that in case of usage of heavy armament there is a risk of escalation of the conflict. There is not only the risk of escalation, but also wrong calculations, which may have negative consequences. So, I definitely won’t call it a frozen conflict, I will call it a very active conflict, which requires attention. I think that those, who consider this conflict to be controllable, are mistaken. So search of resolution measures, I think, is the very sphere, where Russia, the USA and France can work jointly. More on the source website
