March 15, 2010 - 16:13 AMT
Sergey Kapinos: OSCE resolutions are adopted by consensus

OSCE decisions are taken by consensus, even if at least one OSCE participant state is against a decision, it is not accepted, Sergey Kapinos, head of OSCE Yerevan office told at a press conference in Yerevan, in his comment to a question whether there are sanctions applicable in the OSCE, including for the military statements of Baku. He considered it unrealistic to use any sanctions in connection with Baku statements.

"The decisions of OSCE are not legally binding; they are of political nature, so to speak of any sanctions in this regard is unrealistic. This is not the method of OSCE, a sanction is a very radical measure, which often has the opposite effect," said Kapinos. According to him, the methods of OSCE are negotiations, arguments, influence and impact on the processes.

Commenting the question on the possibility of applying legal mechanisms as was raised in the statement of the NKR President that the Karabakh conflict can be resolved at a legal level, Kapinos said if there was possibility to resolve Karabakh conflict appealing to legal terms, it would require a court appeal. "There is a Court of Arbitration in the OSCE, but only members of the Court of Arbitration can appeal, while Azerbaijan is not a member,” Kapinos said, adding that the issue could also be considered in the context of an international court in Copenhagen. "While no application has been made,” said Sergey Kapinos, adding that the sides apparently opted to use the old tried means of resolving conflicts.