POLITICS
AMERICAN ANALYST MADE REPORT ON OSCE MINSK GROUP ACTIVITY
Despite numerous visits to the region, the decade-long activity of the OSCE Minsk Group remains unsuccessful. As was informed by AzerTAj correspondent, this was confirmed by Mr. Vladimir Sokor, renowned analyst of the leading Washington Institute of Strategic and Political Studies on former soviet space. Appearing at the Institute of Central Asia and Caucasus of the John Hopkins University with a lecture “Is the OSCE alive?” he said that the OSCE MG co-chairs in their report in Maastricht explained the lack in 2003 of move in the Nagorno Karabakh issue with the elections in Armenia and Azerbaijan. Vladimir Sokor, who puts the question as “With what do they explain the unsuccessful activity during 9 years?” does not expect any essential from the further activity of the Minsk Group.
Touching on the last visit of the co-chairs to Baku, the American analyst underlined that the co-chairs visit to the region was accompanied by the first deputy foreign minister of Russia Vyacheslav Trubnikov. At the meeting with President Ilham Aliyev just he was speaking on behalf of the co-chairs. At Sokor’s opinion, composition of the delegation – two Russians, one French and one American – clarifies peculiarity of the Minsk Group activity. Noting that “mediation at the elections should be carried in numerous formats”, Vladimir Sokor stressed that it is needed long ago.
The analyst deems that settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict may accelerate both development of the region and admission of Azerbaijan and Georgia to NATO.