Comments on: Paris Talks End in Failure http://oneworld.blogsome.com/2006/02/12/paris-talks-end-in-failure/ Journalism and Photography from Armenia and the Surrounding Region Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:35:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5.1-alpha by: Onnik http://oneworld.blogsome.com/2006/02/12/paris-talks-end-in-failure/#comment-837 Mon, 13 Feb 2006 21:40:26 +0000 http://oneworld.blogsome.com/2006/02/12/paris-talks-end-in-failure/#comment-837 RFE/RL has more on the quite significant obstacles that resulted in the failure of the Paris talks. <blockquote>A source close to the weekend negotiations told RFE/RL that they collapsed due to disagreements over two key points relating to Karabakh’s future status and a timeframe for Armenian withdrawal from Kelbajar, a mountainous district sandwiched between Karabakh and Armenia proper. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the Armenians want to continue to control Kelbajar up until a referendum on Karabakh’s status, whereas Aliev insisted on its earlier liberation. The idea of holding such a referendum in Karabakh was at the heart of the peace formula discussed by the conflicting parties over the past year, and the Azerbaijani side reportedly accepted it in principle. Mammadyarov’s comments suggest, however, that last-minute disagreements blocked agreement on the conflict’s main stumbling block, with Baku apparently insisting on Karabakh’s return under Azerbaijani rule.</blockquote> http://www.armenialiberty.org/armeniareport/report/en/2006/02/465B6FA1-CCAF-49CC-9C51-6AF7199AE421.ASP Hetq also has more on the failure of the talks at: http://www.hetq.am/eng/politics/0602-koch-aliev.html RFE/RL has more on the quite significant obstacles that resulted in the failure of the Paris talks.

A source close to the weekend negotiations told RFE/RL that they collapsed due to disagreements over two key points relating to Karabakh’s future status and a timeframe for Armenian withdrawal from Kelbajar, a mountainous district sandwiched between Karabakh and Armenia proper. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the Armenians want to continue to control Kelbajar up until a referendum on Karabakh’s status, whereas Aliev insisted on its earlier liberation.

The idea of holding such a referendum in Karabakh was at the heart of the peace formula discussed by the conflicting parties over the past year, and the Azerbaijani side reportedly accepted it in principle. Mammadyarov’s comments suggest, however, that last-minute disagreements blocked agreement on the conflict’s main stumbling block, with Baku apparently insisting on Karabakh’s return under Azerbaijani rule.

http://www.armenialiberty.org/armeniareport/report/en/2006/02/465B6FA1-CCAF-49CC-9C51-6AF7199AE421.ASP

Hetq also has more on the failure of the talks at: http://www.hetq.am/eng/politics/0602-koch-aliev.html

]]> by: Onnik http://oneworld.blogsome.com/2006/02/12/paris-talks-end-in-failure/#comment-833 Mon, 13 Feb 2006 00:29:54 +0000 http://oneworld.blogsome.com/2006/02/12/paris-talks-end-in-failure/#comment-833 Most Azeris back peace ahead of Karabakh talks in Paris ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow 9 Feb 06 Turan news agency, Baku 9 Feb 06 Azartac news agency, Baku 10 Feb 06 An opinion poll conducted ahead of the Paris-hosted meeting on Friday 10 February between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia on the disputed region of Nagornyy Karabakh showed that half of the respondents want a peaceful solution to the conflict. More than 47.8 per cent of the 628 people polled by the Azeri independent monitoring centre Ray said the conflict should be resolved peacefully, while 38.2 per cent preferred a military settlement, ITAR-TASS news agency reported on 9 February. A total of 78.8 per cent said the dispute should be settled within the framework of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, and no-one backed the idea of Armenia's annexation of Nagornyy Karabakh or of this breakaway region becoming an independent state, the agency said. An absolute majority of the respondents, 81.2 per cent, believe that President Ilham Aliyev will never agree to cede Nagornyy Karabakh to Armenia, the report concluded. The Azerbaijani Turan news agency reported on 9 February that the two presidents will hold separate meetings with French President Jacques Chirac on 10 February. It quoted the French embassy in Baku as saying that the two leaders will have after that a head-to-head meeting in Rambouillet. On 11 February, the OSCE mediators will join the talks, Turan said. Prior to the meetings, President Aliyev received the president of France's Total in Paris on 9 February, Azartac news agency reported. The agency added that "the two men expressed their satisfaction with the level of energy cooperation and spoke about the company's work in Azerbaijan". The sides also discussed future developments, Total's involvement in the Sah Daniz gas project, and Azerbaijan's participation in an international hydrocarbon transit project. Most Azeris back peace ahead of Karabakh talks in Paris

ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow 9 Feb 06

Turan news agency, Baku 9 Feb 06
Azartac news agency, Baku 10 Feb 06

An opinion poll conducted ahead of the Paris-hosted meeting on Friday 10 February between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia on the disputed region of Nagornyy Karabakh showed that half of the respondents want a peaceful solution to the conflict.

More than 47.8 per cent of the 628 people polled by the Azeri independent monitoring centre Ray said the conflict should be resolved peacefully, while 38.2 per cent preferred a military settlement, ITAR-TASS news agency reported on 9 February.

A total of 78.8 per cent said the dispute should be settled within the framework of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, and no-one backed the idea of Armenia’s annexation of Nagornyy Karabakh or of this breakaway region becoming an independent state, the agency said.

An absolute majority of the respondents, 81.2 per cent, believe that President Ilham Aliyev will never agree to cede Nagornyy Karabakh to Armenia, the report concluded.

The Azerbaijani Turan news agency reported on 9 February that the two presidents will hold separate meetings with French President Jacques Chirac on 10 February. It quoted the French embassy in Baku as saying that the two leaders will have after that a head-to-head meeting in Rambouillet. On 11 February, the OSCE mediators will join the talks, Turan said.

Prior to the meetings, President Aliyev received the president of France’s Total in Paris on 9 February, Azartac news agency reported.

The agency added that “the two men expressed their satisfaction with the level of energy cooperation and spoke about the company’s work in Azerbaijan”.

The sides also discussed future developments, Total’s involvement in the Sah Daniz gas project, and Azerbaijan’s participation in an international hydrocarbon transit project.

]]> by: Onnik http://oneworld.blogsome.com/2006/02/12/paris-talks-end-in-failure/#comment-832 Sun, 12 Feb 2006 23:56:14 +0000 http://oneworld.blogsome.com/2006/02/12/paris-talks-end-in-failure/#comment-832 Baku Today has some more information apparently from AFP saying that while the talks in Paris ended without agreement, the two Presidents will meet again to continue negotiations at "a later, unspecified date." http://www.bakutoday.net/view.php?d=16254 For background information on Nagorno Karabakh the BBC have a page at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/3658938.stm Baku Today has some more information apparently from AFP saying that while the talks in Paris ended without agreement, the two Presidents will meet again to continue negotiations at “a later, unspecified date.”

http://www.bakutoday.net/view.php?d=16254

For background information on Nagorno Karabakh the BBC have a page at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/3658938.stm

]]> by: Nessuna http://oneworld.blogsome.com/2006/02/12/paris-talks-end-in-failure/#comment-831 Sun, 12 Feb 2006 14:01:53 +0000 http://oneworld.blogsome.com/2006/02/12/paris-talks-end-in-failure/#comment-831 The rhetoric of war never stopped surfacing in Azerbaijan, to begin with. The rhetoric of war never stopped surfacing in Azerbaijan, to begin with.

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