Last year’s events in the Caucasus demonstrated that there is no alternative to a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha said at a news conference.
CSTO comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
“There is no alternative to a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and what happened a year ago in the Caucasus once again confirms that the use of force does not lead to resolution of any conflict between nations. Only a peaceful and mutually acceptable solutions can help ensure peace in the Caucasus,” he said.
Replying to a question what reaction CSTO will have if Azerbaijan tries to return Karabakh by force and there is a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Bordyuzha recalled that the CSTO is “based on the Treaty on Collective Security fourth article of which says that aggression against one of CSTO member-states is seen as aggression against all.”
“On this basis, all the rest are words in such a difficult situation as the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that are only harmful, not beneficial.. I very much hope that the OSCE Minsk Group and the meeting between presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan will lead to a peaceful settlement.”
“Today all points to this. Especially the last meetings of Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents which took place in Moscow and St. Petersburg confirmed only that the process is underway and each side is ready to seek a peaceful resolution of the problem that exists in Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said.
Recently, representatives of the OSCE Minsk Group which includes Russia, the United States and France, who mediated in settlement of the Karabakh conflict, said that the process has reached a progress and that they hoped to reach an agreement to settle the conflict in early 2010.
On July 10, at G8 summit in Italy, the presidents of Russia, the United States and France issued a joint statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
According to the document, these three countries will present an update of the latest proposals on Nagorno-Karabakh in Baku and Yerevan. These principles include determining status of Karabakh by free will, the land link between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, providing security guarantees and withdrawal of troops from the territories controlled.
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