Is breakthrough possible in St. St. Petersburg?
"The other territories will be returned to Azerbaijan step by step," the U.S. Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Matthew Bryza said in an interview with "Echo Moskvi," after the Prague meeting of Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev.
This wasn't the only sensational statement by the U.S. Co-Chair. "I think the territories will be returned finally, and Azeri refuges will resettle in these territories. At present I cannot say what is to become of Karabakh. Surely, it will have a new status. Negotiations over the territories are ongoing."
Mattew Bryza didn't refer to Armenian refugees. Karabakh's new status will be determined in the result of a political decision. The U.S. welcomes Aliyev's statement in Moscow that the Republic of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh should be bridged.
"It is a step forward. He also spoke of the NKR's right to self-determination and sovereignty. What does it mean?" said Bryza.
"A breakthrough in the negotiations on the Nagorno Karabakh issue may occur during the meeting of Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia in St. Petersburg."
The present leaders have a lot of work to do. But on the other hand, they are moving step by step. Maybe they have not brought the turning point to the end, but they have laid the foundation for it during the Prague meeting, and I hope that in a month, when they meet in St. Petersburg, the turning point is possible in the end," Bryza said.
According to the Minsk Group Co-Chair, Russia and the United States are equally suited for resolving the Karabakh conflict. It was also confirmed by Russian Co-Chair Yuri Merzlyakov.
With regard to Armenian-Turkish relations, the two Co-Chairs said that it cannot be driven from the Karabakh conflict settlement. At the same time, they noted that the normalization of bilateral ties can help solve the conflict and the vise versa; NKH conflict resolution will have its positive outcome on Armenian-Turkish relations.
Referring to Ilham Aliyev's statement that the Armenian-Turkish border cannot be opened unless NKR conflict is settled and the territories are returned, Mattew Bryza said: "The border will not be opened at once. The process will start after establishing relations between the two countries. Now we still have tome to reach that turning point."
