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Nagorno Karabakh Peace Process
Position Paper June 2002
BACKGROUND
In 1988, Nagorno Karabakh (NK), a historically Armenian
land and autonomous entity in the Soviet Union, petitioned the Central
Government in Moscow asking to be reunited with Armenia. This legal
and peaceful call for self-determination aimed to rectify Stalin's 'divide
and conquer' gerrymandering of 1921, whereby Nagorno Karabakh and its
Armenian population (over 95 percent) was forcibly placed under the
administrative rule of the Azerbaijani SSR.
Setting aside Soviet and other applicable international
laws, the Soviet Union and Azerbaijan arbitrarily denied Nagorno Karabakh's
appeal for self-determination. The situation escalated to conflict,
as Azerbaijan resorted to pogroms and military aggression in an effort
to suppress Nagorno Karabakh's action. This violence was followed by
the 1991-1994 Azeri instigated war on the Nagorno Karabakh Republic
(NKR), which claimed thousands of NK casualties and destroyed an estimated
80 percent of Nagorno Karabakh's economy. In the summer of 1992 Azerbaijan
placed about 50% of the NKR territory under military occupation. Since
the cease-fire Agreement of 1994, the conflict awaits final, peaceful,
and equitable resolution through direct negotiations.
Since 1992 the main vehicle for the resolution of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict has been the Minsk Group of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has sought to mediate
a durable peace settlement. The Minsk Group, currently co-chaired by
the United States, Russia and France, has come forward with a series
of proposals to solve the crisis. The most recent of these was the "Common
State" proposal (more here). This approach, which envisioned restarting
full-fledged negotiations without any preconditions, was accepted by
Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia, but rejected by Azerbaijan. In April 2001,
Secretary of State Colin Powell hosted a meeting in Key West, Florida
between Armenian President Robert Kocharian and Azeri President Geidar
Aliev to further the Nagorno Karabakh peace-process. At its conclusion,
the Minsk Group reported "major progress". However, Azeri
President Aliev subsequently walked away from the agreements reached
at the meeting, yet another setback for the peace process back.
Since the early days of the Azeri military offensive,
the U.S. Congress has been actively engaged in the effort to find a
resolution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. In fact, in 1989, the U.S.
Senate passed, a resolution highlighting America's
support for the fundamental rights and the aspirations of the people
of Nagorno-Karabakh generally, and for a peaceful and fair settlement
to the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh specifically (S.J. Res. 178).
In addition, Congress has addressed this issue through
the annual foreign operations appropriations process. For example, the
Fiscal Year 2000 Foreign Operations Appropriations House Report Language
states: "The primary interest of the United States in the Southern
Caucasus is peace." To this extent, the report mentions the possibility
of "exceptional support" for the region once peace is reached
and a stable infrastructure is in place.
Similarly, Members of the Congressional Caucus on
Armenian Issues continue to circulate numerous "Dear Colleague"
letters and deliver speeches on the House and Senate floors in which
they reaffirm their support for a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict. These Members also praise the determination of the
Karabakh people to maintain their independence. U.S. Congressmen Adam
Shiff acknowledged "The right to independence is already realized
by the NKR people, and [it is] inadmissible, that a third side would
dictate its conditions."
The people and the government of the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic are grateful to the members of the Armenian Caucus and the
House and Senate appropriators for their ongoing leadership on Nagorno
Karabakh issues. Moreover, our government shares the desire of the U.S.
Congress to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict through the OSCE
peace process, since we believe that a peaceful and economically integrated
South Caucasus will bring stability, economic prosperity and increased
opportunity for all peoples of the region.
During 1992-1997 NKR participated directly in the
OSCE peace talks. It is a signatory to the May 1994 tripartite cease-fire
Agreement. Subsequently, Azerbaijan rejected NK as a negotiating partner.
International mediators have said repeatedly that the conflict cannot
be resolved without the concurrence of NK. International practice and
precedence require that NK be a full party throughout the negotiation
process.
POSITION
The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is fully committed
to the peaceful resolution of the conflict with Azerbaijan and has agreed
to restart full-fledged negotiations without any preconditions. We welcome
the continued active involvement of the U.S. Congress in the search
for peace and stability in the region, and we call on the government
of Azerbaijan to abandon its war rhetoric and anti-Armenian propaganda.
In order to contribute to the establishment of an atmosphere of tolerance
and trust, we propose to the Government of Azerbaijan to agree to a
set of confidence building measures with Nagorno Karabakh. We find Azerbaijan's
rejection of Nagorno Karabakh as a full party to the peace negotiations
counterproductive. We also ask the U.S. Congress to continue its efforts
in advancing a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
by ensuring that Nagorno Karabakh is a full participant throughout the
negotiating process.
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