In an interview published today by the Azerbaijan web portal day.az, LINKS Executive Director Dennis Sammut emphasised the need for both sides in the Karabakh conflict to use every opportunity that arises to solve the conflict peacefully. Read the full text of the interview below:
Day.az - Do you think the resolution on the situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, recently adopted by the UN, influences the negotiations on Nagorno Karabakh?
DS - I believe Azerbaijan should use peaceful means for the resolution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict. In this sense the UN resolution is one of such means. I can not criticize Azerbaijan for using its diplomatic potential to defend its position. That is a matter of tactics. However UN General Assembly resolutions carry moral authority but are not binding, so its impact on the conflict is limited.
Don't you think that the failure of the co-chairing countries to vote against this resolution damage the image of these countries as mediators in the Karabakh conflict settlement?
I was surprised that the co-chair countries voted against the resolution since I was expecting them to abstain. But my understanding is that they took exception to the very idea of a resolution being put forward and so they were actually voting against the process rather than against the text. In any case in the General Assembly they were not voting as co-Chair of the Minsk - the Minsk process has no vote in the United Nations. The vote was by the representatives of the three countries, the US, Russia and France and they have to live by that decision.
Then, are the appeals, voiced in Baku, regarding the need to change the co-chairing countries, justified?
The Minsk process has several components. First it is an OSCE process, then there are the countries that form the Minsk Group, third there are the countries that form the Minsk group co-chairs, and fourth there are the persons that represent the Minsk Group Co-Chair countries.
I do not quite understand what part of this process the Azerbaijan government is against and what is the object of criticism: whether it is the OSCE, or the Minsk Group, or the co-chair countries or their separate representatives.
I have always said that the Minsk process should be flexible. The situation around Nagorno Karabakh has changed and it should be evident that there is a need for improvement of the Minsk process. This process is not something sacred or untouchable. This is just an instrument, owing to which the world society offered its assistance to Azerbaijan and Armenia in the resolution of Nagorno Karabakh problem 10 years ago and which could be changed depending on changing situation. However these changes will have to be agreed by the sides and as long as there is no agreement to do something different the Minsk process is what we have.
How can Serzh Sarkissyan's presidency influence the negotiation process on Nagorno Karabakh problem?
I was in Armenia last week and met with different state officials. They assured me at each meeting that great changes are expected in Armenia. There will be new ideas and new policies. This could also impact the Karabakh peace process. In any case I think we are at a crucial point in this process and both Armenia and Azerbaijan should do their utmost to use any opportunity that might present itself for the conflict to be resolved.
