THE UN GA HINDERS THE NEGOTIATION PROCEDURE

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NKR Foreign Minister Georgy Petrossian’s commentary on UN General Assembly Resolution on Fires.

Mr. Minister how do you assess the Resolution on fires on the territories under the NKR control adopted at the 60th session of UN General Assembly?

On the whole taking into account the final result, namely an intention to send the OSCE Mission with support of the UN experts to the region to assess the long-term and short-term threats, which can lead to ecologic catastrophe in the region, the Resolution can be considered acceptable for the NKR. Moreover, it is necessary to emphasize that this process is a logical continuation of Nagorno Karabakh authorities’ initiative. The NKR authorities were extremely alarmed at the situation with the fires as those inflammations caused damage to the agriculture of our republic. In connection with this the NKR MFA sent a note to the Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office with an urgent request to conduct a crisis-monitoring in the area bordering with Azerbaijan. Two weeks late the OSCE Mission conducted a series of monitorings, which resulted in the report of Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, which refuted the accusations of the Azerbaijani side on alleged burnings of settlements in the NKR security zone. Thus, the NKR authorities were the first to address the OSCE for a dispatch of a monitoring group to the region, which was passed over in silence by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen in their report, which was made public at the General Assembly’s session. However, if the report of the OSCE high rank needs additional confirmation, - we are ready to receive a new Mission of the OSCE to discredit Azerbaijani myths once more.

The position of this issue in the UN itself and some formulas of the Resolution are not acceptable. The attempts to transfer the issues which are to be solved by the OSCE Minsk Group to the UN cannot promote the advance of negotiation process but only postpone the possible prospect of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement.

The fact that the given Resolution, namely its contents is a result of consensus between Armenia and Azerbaijan – rare phenomenon for recent years, especially under the conditions of the absence of confidence between the parties, is worthy of notice and it can be only welcomed. We consider that such projects are to be discussed with participation of all three parties to the conflict in order to avoid problems in the course of implementation of accepted decisions especially because these decisions concern the territories which are exceptionally under the control of the Nagorno Karabakh republic’s authorities.

The NKR’s position remains invariable – we are going to continue our cooperation with the international structures and are ready to assist the work of a group of experts sent by the OSCE exclusively from neutral countries.