Sergey Kapinos: we can’t decide for Karabakh

March 15, 2010 - 15:55 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The OSCE Office in Yerevan celebrates its 10th jubilee in 2010.

During a news conference in Yerevan, the head of the Office, Mr. Sergei Kapinos specified the main OSCE-implemented programs in Yerevan, covering the following sectors: military, political, ecological, economic, human rights, democratic and state governance. “Last year, the OSCE bureau realized 53 projects,” he noted.

In his recent statement, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Emeritus Goran Lennmarker advised against altering Karabakh negotiations format, stressing that RA President, as a native, will be able to present Karabakh interests to best advantage. Commenting on the statement specified, Mr. Kapinos said: “Nagorno Karabakh should be engaged in talks. We can’t decide for it.”

He also emphasized that “destruction of the existing format is pregnant with unpredictable consequences.”

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke out as result of the ethnic cleansing launched by the Azeri authorities in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 (when the Nagorno Karabakh Republic was proclaimed) to 1994 (when a ceasefire was sealed by Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan). Most of Nagorno Karabakh and a security zone consisting of 7 regions are now under control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.

The OSCE Minsk Group

The OSCE Minsk Group was created in 1992 to encourage a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The Minsk Group is headed by a Co-Chairmanship consisting of France, Russia and the United States. The main objectives of the Minsk Process are as follows: Providing an appropriate framework for conflict resolution in the way of assuring the negotiation process supported by the Minsk Group; Obtaining conclusion by the Parties of an agreement on the cessation of the armed conflict in order to permit the convening of the Minsk Conference; Promoting the peace process by deploying OSCE multinational peacekeeping forces.