What are Warlick's Contributions in the Karabakh Conflict Settlement Process?

• 11.23.2016, 15:27
•  Region,  World,  Armenia

PanArmenian Photo

The US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick wrote on his Twitter, that he is leaving his post. "I will step down as @OSCE Co-Chair on December 31. It has been an honor to serve in the @StateDept for more than 30 years," Warlick wrote on his Twitter.

Warlick has held this position since August 2013 and during the years of being a Co-Chair Warlick became famous for his posts in Twiiter. It should be noted that Warlick's tweets brought some clarity on some organizational-technical issues of Karabakh conflict settlement process. At the same time Warlick actively communicated with the media. And sometimes, his activity gave an impression that the Co-Chair was the most concerned about the Karabakh conflict.

It should be noted that the American diplomat was not unanimously accepted by the Armenian and Azerbaijani societies. Warlick is perceived by the Azerbaijani side as a pro-Armenian Co-Chair. According to Baku, the Obama administration indulged Armenian lobby and in general is not interested in the Karabakh conflict. "Instead, to make clear the position of his country, Warlick did not hesitate to demonstrate his full amorphous. We hope that the new American administration will approach more seriously its duties under the Minsk Group and to activate its role in Karabakh settlement," Samad Seyidov, the head of the international relations and inter-parliamentary relations committee of Azerbaijani Parliament said in this regard. It should be noted that the Armenian society, in its turn, perceived Warlick as a pro-Azerbaijani diplomat, referring to the periodic statements by the latter about Madrid Principles and the return of liberated territories to Azerbaijan.

As for Warlick's contribution to the negotiation process, then it should be noted that his personal role is secondary: the state makes policy, not a diplomatic representative. Another issue is that the Co-Chair and the mediators in general with their not-addressed statements created an atmosphere of impunity, which led to Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh in April.

Together with leaving the post of the Minsk Group Co-Chair Warlick is also leaving the State Department, where he worked for over 30 years. He served as Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and lead negotiator for the Bilateral Security Agreement with Afghanistan. He served as Ambassador to Bulgaria from 2009-2012, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs from 2006 to 2009, and Director of the Office of European Security and Political Affairs from 2005 to 2006.

After completing his diplomatic career Warlick is going to cooperate with the Russian "Egorov, Puginski, Afanassieff and Partners" law firm. He will be responsible for working with US and international clients, strategic relationships with customers, for the development of legislation and public policy.