Announces Andrew Sheffer as new OSCE Minks Group US Co-Chair
WASHINGTON—The US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Richard Hoagland on Wednesday held a news conference during which he presented six main points for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution, reading them to the journalist gathered at the Washington Press Club, reported Voice of America’s Armenian Service.
Below are the key points highlighted by Hoagland.
“In light of Nagorno-Karabakh’s complex history, the sides should commit to determining its final legal status through a mutually agreed and legally binding expression of will in the future. Interim status will be temporary.”
“The area within the boundaries of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region that is not controlled by Baku should be granted an interim status that, at a minimum, provides guarantees for security and self-governance. ”
“The occupied territories surrounding the Nagorno-Karabakh should be returned to Azerbaijani control. There can be no settlement without respect for Azerbaijan’s sovereignty, and the recognition that its sovereignty over these territories must be restored.”
“There should be a corridor linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh. It must be wide enough to provide secure passage, but it cannot encompass the whole of Lachin district. ”
“An enduring settlement will have to recognize the right of all IDPs and refugees to return to their former places of residence.”
“A settlement must include international security guarantees that would include a peacekeeping operation. There is no scenario in which peace can be assured without a well-designed peacekeeping operation that enjoys the confidence of all sides.”
“The time has come for the sides to commit themselves to peace negotiations, building on the foundation of work done so far. ”
Hoagland said that these are the general policy of international mediators based on the Madrid principles, which are at the center of the negotiations for a resolution to the Karabakh conflict.
“This is a long-term policy, it’s not connected with this or that co-chair. This is our general policy. Of course, the proposed project is more detailed and extensive, but this is the basis of any reasonable solution, and all parties agree on this issue,” said Hoagland.
“Even if they [the parties at the negotiating table] do not agree with the specific points of the proposed program, they still agree to discuss it,” added Hoagland.
He emphasized that the Karabakh conflict did not start with the collapse of the Soviet Union, but rather has been a conflict that has decades, if not centuries of history.
Ambassador Hoagland also announced that he will cease to be the interim Co-Chair on Monday, August 28, adding that Andrew Schofer has been appointed as the permanent US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group. Schofer has served Charge D’Affaires of the United States Mission to International Organizations.
According to Azatutyun.am, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian on Thursday downplayed the significance of Hoagland’s statement. Armenpress quoted Nalbandian as saying that the U.S. mediator simply reaffirmed what has for years been stated by the three mediating powers.
“The elements voiced by US Co-Chair Richard Hogland do not contain anything new and are a paraphrase of the Madrid principles that have been repeatedly published,” said Artsakh Foreign Minister Karen Mirzoyan when speaking to a reporter on Artsakh TV.
“Our position with respect to such proposals is known and remains unchanged. Any model of the settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict, aimed at ensuring a stable and long-term peace, is impossible without the full participation of the Artsakh party at all stages of the negotiation process and cannot ignore the existing realities,” added Mirzoyan.
“The April war of 2016 clearly demonstrated that approaches, disconnected with reality, are dangerous and can pave the way for unpredictable developments,” explained Mirzoyan.
“Today, first of all, it is necessary to take consistent steps to ensure the irreversibility of the peace process and the implementation of the agreements reached, in particular, on the implementation of mechanisms for investigating cease-fire violations,” said the Artsakh Foreign Minister.
Unrealized agreements become ballast and prevent the possibility of positive change in the negotiations
Artsakh presidential spokesperson David Babayan said Thursday that Artsakh will not be pressured to adopt this package as it is not an ultimatum.
“This [Hoagland’s six points] is the US vision for the Karabakh conflict resolution. In this vision there are two key points, peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict and the fact that the US does not see Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan,”Babayan told the ArmInfo news agency.
“This light rewrite of the highly asymmetrical Madrid Principles – worse in many ways than previous iterations of this reckless proposal – once again front-loads all the rewards on an increasingly aggressive Azerbaijan and all the risks on democratic Artsakh. It’s a non-starter. Sadly, rather than empowering incoming OSCE Minsk Group U.S. Co-Chair Andrew Schofer, the Administration has handicapped him from the start with a fatally flawed framework, one that runs counter to our American values and undermines our national interest in a durable and democratic peace,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
nothing new here & Artsakh can not give any liberated lands back to barbaric azaris .as a matter of fact we need Kedashen & shakhumian regions to be liberated too….once eastern Armenia is settled then turkey must give up our historical & occupied territories of Western Armenia Wilsonian declaration
Follow the money for this biased outlines.
Richard Hoagland looking for his retirement home, where oil man of Axerbaijan promised him with fringe benefits with extra ordinary wages and a castle in front of Baku’s oil fields. Hoagland can swim with his loved ones and ease his arthritis pain.
Viken jan , I am sure you love your ancestral country and you will do every thing for the good of your ancestral country , but those ideas expressed by you are pure tragic joke , coming out of false ideological doctrine/information ,spread by irresponsible organisations and relevant medias and ignorance .
I explain why that is the case
1)Armenian government does not have money to buy military equipment for our young heroes defending our border against our enemies , it goes to Russia (July 2017 ) begging money from Russia to buy military equipment from Russia , there has been many such embarrassing dealings where Armenia sells country’s asset to borrow money from Russia to pay for electricity debt , pension short falls etc.
2) As we speak there are somewhere between 15000-25000 Young Armenian mostly female Armenians, working in Turkey , the country that you want to liberate western Armenia ( Turkey president many times threatened Armenia to send them back to Armenia) working not as IT specialist but cleaners , carers and guess what…..
3) People in Armenia, because of poverty ( and presence of dishonest political establishments , ) sell their right to vote for 20 dollars
4) Our educational budget is 20 times less than average educational budget that our hostile neighbours spend.
5) Our loud shouting Diaspora has kept it’s distance from fatherland as far as it can ( not all of it out of their own choice ) . Armenian diaspora is day dreaming wastefully that it can act like Jewish diaspora .
Viken jan do not waste your energy day dreaming .Wake up and see the realities of our fatherland.
For starters, drop the use of the word “jan”. It isn’t Armenian!