Swiss OSCE Chairmanship ‘to foster’ settlement of Karabakh conflict
Baku, March 7 (AZERTAC). Swiss OSCE Chair`s Special Representative for the South Caucasus Angelo Gnaedinger has revealed his country`s plans to foster settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
“The international community should demonstrate resoluteness to ensure solution of the dispute,” said Gnaedinger as he met Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister, chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs Ali Hasanov in Baku.
Gnaedinger noted that ensuring security and stability in the South Caucasus would be among key priorities during Switzerland`s chairmanship of the OSCE.
“Unfortunately, no serious steps have been taken on this front in the past 20 years. Swiss President Didier Burkhalter considers the current state of the conflict as very dangerous. We should not take a waiting position, we should take concrete steps.”
Gnaedinger said Switzerland proposed three options for fostering the settlement process: “The first is supporting the OSCE Minsk Group and Switzerland`s special representative, the second is encouraging other members of the OSCE Minsk Group to be involved in finding a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, and the third is encouraging general public in both nations, which suffer from the conflict, in ensuring peaceful settlement of the dispute. And Switzerland is ready to play the role of a bridge in this process.”
He also lauded the Azerbaijani government`s attention to problems of refugees and IDPs.
Gnaedinger also praised Azerbaijan`s development.
Hasanov said Armenia`s occupation of 20% of the Azerbaijani lands resulted in the emergence of more than million refugees and IDPs. “This was accompanied by the annihilation of our national and cultural wealth and the entire infrastructure.”
“The United Nations Security Council adopted four resolutions demanding an unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from Azerbaijan`s occupied lands, and the return of the refugees and IDPs to their homelands.”
“The OSCE, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other leading international organizations have adopted a number of resolutions and documents condemning Armenia`s policy of aggression.”
Hasanov said: “But unfortunately Armenia continues to disregards these resolutions and demands of the international community. Mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group for more than 20 years, the talks to find a peaceful solution to the dispute have not yet yielded any results.”
The Deputy Prime Minister said Azerbaijan was committed to solving the conflict through peaceful means.
Hasanov highlighted what the Azerbaijani government had done to solve problems of refugees and IDPs, saying “a total of $5.4 billion has been allocated to solve social problems of refugees and IDPs”.
“Some 180,000 refugees and IDPs have been resettled in new residential areas thanks to funding from the State Oil Fund, and this process continues,” he added.
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