Mathew Bryza optimistic about continuation of Karabakh talks

June 29, 2011 - 12:08 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Presidents Obama, Medvedev and Sarkozy were clear about their hopes for this meeting when they made their statement in Deauville saying that it’s now time to resolve the conflict, to finalize the sheet on 'basic principles', to provide the foundation for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, US Ambassador to Azerbaijan said.

As Mathew Bryza noted, the presidents made clear that no other settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict but the peaceful negotiated one is possible.

“So the parties didn’t reach that breakthrough to finalize the basic principles just now in Kazan. But my understanding is the negotiations are continuing, the process continues, and the sides will meet again and will try to work through the issues that are remaining on the table,” Bryza said.

“As you know, President Obama phoned President Aliyev and President Sargsyan before Kazan meeting. President Medvedev has been involved personally and President Sarkozy expressed his commitment to moving this process forward just before Kazan. So I would anticipate that sort of Presidential level support will continue,” Trend News quoted him as saying.

The summit between Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia in Kazan on June 24 completed without an agreement on basic principles of Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement. “The countries’ leaders registered mutual understanding on a range of problems, the resolution of which boosts creation of conditions for approving main principles. The meeting participants considered the course of works carried out with the aim of coordination of the project with basic principles,” according to the statement. The Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan expressed gratitude to the Russian, French and U.S. leaders, the OSCE Minsk group co-chairs, for ‘their constant attention to Nagorno-Karabakh problem’ and highly praised personal efforts of the Russian President in support of agreements.

Later on Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian noted that the June 24 meeting was not a breakthrough, as Azerbaijan proved unready to accept the final version of the basic principles suggested by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs. Instead, the Azerbaijani leader attempted to impose 10 new proposals, thus precluding the possibility of any agreement on the issue,” he added.