Will the Karabakh conflict be solved soon?
New opportunities exist for a rapid solution of the Karabakh conflict. The issue will likely be settled within the coming few months," OSCE Minsk group Co-Chair Mattew Bryza announced today in Yerevan.
"Good bases exist for progress in the conflict resolution," noted the Minsk group Co-Chairs.
The Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev, have confirmed their willingness to have a meeting in Prague on May 7.
"The Prague meeting can be of great importance. It will be constructive and productive like the three previous meetings in Saint Petersburg, Moscow and Zurich," said French Co-Chair Bernard Fassier.
The Co-Chairs assessed the agenda of the Prague meeting which will highlight a number of issues left unagreed during the previous meetings.
Bernard Fassier said the Madrid Proposals still remain on the negotiation table and many provisions are going to be discussed in Prague by Presidents Sargsyan and Aliyev.
The French co-chair advised paying attention to the Azerbaijani president's statement in Moscow during which Ilham Alieyev made unprecedented statements on "self-government." Journalists observed that Alieyev had also announced that "the Karabakh conflict cannot be regulated at the expense of the territorial wholeness of Azerbaijan."
The Co-Chairs declined to comment on Aliyev's statement. Only Russian Co-Chair Yury Merzlyakov noted that no other way is effective to solve such issues but a referendum.
The Minsk group Co-Chairs welcomed the countries' attempts to normalize bilateral relations.
"The agreement reached between the Foreign Ministries of Armenia and Turkey with the mediation of Switzerland could have a positive influence on the whole region," the Co-Chair declared, adding that the resolution of the Karabakh conflict and the establishment of the Armenian-Turkish relations would proceed separately.
Mattew Bryza noted that the USA has always welcomed the normalization of ties. "The USA supports the parties' rapprochement without any preconditions."
The normalization of relations would be a good basis for regional development. The rapprochement of the two countries reflects the positive energy in the region, and this energy benefits Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Karabakh solution."
Bernard Fassier added that the joint statement of the two FMs on the bilateral relations is only the beginning of a long process.
