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Minsk Group Co-Chairs Carey Cavanaugh (United States), Philippe de Suramaen (France), and Nikolai Gribkov (Russia) briefed reporters in Yerevan May 21 about their meeting with Armenian President Robert Kocharian on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. Cavanaugh said they described for the president their visit to refugee camps in the region. "We explained to him that we had found a lot of people very concerned about peace. This was a common message we heard by refugees from Sumgayit and Baku and by people who had lived in Aghdam and are now in camps in Azerbaijan.... We were worried, however, that we did not hear a lot of discussion among the population about the need for compromise." Declining to discuss details of the peace negotiation, Cavanaugh said that President Kocharian and Azerbaijan President Heydar Aliyev "have dealt with very difficult questions and have made some progress on the most difficult questions." Gribkov said that "all our meetings with President Aliyev and President Kocharian encourage hope that the peace process will go on. As for the Geneva meeting [in June], in our strong belief this meeting should be very well prepared, we have to be sure that the new round of peace talks between the presidents will really be a step forward." Calling Nagorno-Karabakh a "very difficult problem," he added that "one should take into account that the resolution will be necessarily based on compromises." De Suramaen said "there was an optimism" following the April peace talks between Aliyev and Kocharian in Key West, Florida "and it was based on serious progress that the presidents had made and we had made working together there. But there was also an understanding that the presidents had to go home to talk to their governments, to listen to their opposition, to get a feeling for their people... We expected the leaders to take soundings from people to know if this is the right approach." "The path to peace is not a straight
road," Cavanaugh said. "And our concern as you go on
this path is not for speed but for the final destination... a
peaceful settlement between the countries, a peaceful situation
in the Caucasus, and a different future than they have today." (begin transcript) MEDIA BRIEFING OF THE OSCE MINSK GROUP
CO-CHAIRS Ambassador Carey Cavanaugh, United States, Ambassador Philippe de Suramaen, France, Ambassador Nikolai Gribkov, Russia Opening Remark by Ambassador Cavanaugh We told him we were worried, however, that we did not hear a lot of discussion among the population about the need for compromise. It's something we have heard again and again from President Kocharian and President Aliyev - an understanding that a peace settlement requires compromises. But we expressed concerns that that feeling is not as strong yet with the people of Armenia and Azerbaijan, even that we hear the strong feeling of the need for peace. So we described all of these things. Can you comment in detail on the discussion with President Kocharian? (Gribkov): We believe that the discussion we had with Robert Kocharian was very interesting and helpful for us. We should listen to all sides of the conflict in order to understand better how we should move further. The discussion with the President will help us consider new nuances and better prepare the next phase of the Karabakh settlement process. Mr. Cavanaugh, you have stated that the main contradictions [between the conflicting parties] have already been solved and that the status of Nagorno- Karabakh is still on the table of discussions. Can it be assumed that the main disagreement has been on returning territories to Azerbaijan? (Cavanaugh): I have not said which items have been resolved or which ones remain on the table. We have been very careful, in fact, to follow President Kocharian's and President Aliyev's wishes to keep the details of these discussions confidential. What I have said is that they have dealt with very difficult questions and have made some progress on the most difficult questions. But let me add they are dealing with the most difficult issue a country can face - how do you solve the problems of war and peace. This is not simple, and it can't be done quickly, it can't put an artificial deadline on it, it can't be imposed from outside, it has to be a solution that works for the government of Armenia and the government of Azerbaijan, and the people of Armenia and the people of Azerbaijan. Did the meetings with the two presidents inspire any hopes that a peace agreement may be reached in Geneva? (Gribkov): Of course, all our meetings with President Aliyev and President Kocharian encourage hope that the Karabakh peace process will go on. As for the Geneva meeting, in our strong belief, this meeting should be very well prepared, we have to be sure that the new round of peace talks between the presidents will really be a step forward. That's why, after the discussions we had in Baku, Stepanakert and Yerevan, we will be working on the proposals and ideas with doubled efforts, which, in our view, may become helpful for the Azeri and Armenians in the solution of that actually very difficult problem. One should take into account that the resolution will be necessarily based on compromises. After the Key West talks you were more optimistic and closer to reaching an agreement. The recent statements by the co-chairs have shown less optimism. Why? (de Suramaen): We found that the more we progress, the more we see the complexity of the situation. All these questions cannot be resolved in two minutes, and why this visit was so important ... that we get a lot of impression, a lot of information and then we can go further and better. It takes time because it is a very delicate situation and things have to be resolved in a proper way. (Cavanaugh): Let me add to that. When we finished the meetings in Florida, there was an optimism and it was based on a serious progress that the presidents had made and we had made working together there. But there was also an understanding that the presidents had to go home to talk to their governments, to listen to their opposition, to get a feeling for their people - were the proposals, the ideas, the concepts being considered the right ones, do they work, does this bring about a peace that isn't temporary but permanent? They've been doing that. President Aliyev has been widening the circle of contacts and people who are involved in this process. I believe he has been looking at the response in the press and public events of people about peace. President Kocharian, I know, has been meeting with parliamentary leaders. He has been talking to Arkadi Ghoukassian and other people in Stepanakert, that we had expected that in Florida - the leaders to take soundings from people to know if this is the right approach. What do you think about the opinions of both publics? (Cavanaugh): I think you've heard me say already that we have seen a greater understanding of the need for compromise among the leadership than among the public. And I also think the public needs time. Let me say one last thing. The path to peace is not a straight road, it is more like the road to Lachin - there are many curves and rises and holes. And our concern as you go on this path is not for speed but for the final destination - to reach a durable lasting peace. If it speeds up in Florida, and it slows down a little now, and speeds up again later - that's fine. And the meeting we have just had with President Kocharian and the meeting we had with President Aliyev in Baku on Friday both made clear that they see the same destination - a peaceful settlement between the countries, a peaceful situation in the Caucasus, and a different future than they have today. Are you still optimistic that until the end of the year it is possible to solve this problem? (Cavanaugh): I think I just answered that question. Thank you very much. (end transcript) (Distributed by the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. |
