Co-Chairs' Visit to the Region Aimed at Synchronizing the Watches

• 02.22.2015, 22:19
• Anna Karapetyan
•  Region,  "Insight" Analytical Center ,  World,  Armenia,  NKR,  Analytics

The visit of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group to the region aimed at synchronizing the watches after January escalation and bringing back the process on the table of negotiations. In their interviews and the final press release the co-chairs emphasized that they have urged the sides to respect the ceasefire and in that regard have come up with some proposals. Besides, they declared that another meeting of the Presidents is being prepared.

 The statements of the Azerbaijani side during and after the visit show that at the moment the sides are quite far from reaching an agreement or making compromises. In this respect there is no room for optimism concerning the progress of the negotiations.

However, there are some important points that should be underlined, and can become a base for optimism. The fact that the OSCE MG co-chairs are constantly in touch with the Karabakh side - meaning not only with the authorities but also with people, is of particular importance. This shows that the co-chairs realize that the final settlement of the conflict will depend particularly on the citizens of NKR. In this regard, the interview of the US co-chair James Warlick given to the media of Artsakh was a positive step.

As for further expectations, most likely such confidence building measures, as withdrawal of snipers from the Armenian-Azerbaijani, NKR-Azerbaijani borders, establishment of incident investigation mechanism, et., are still relevant.