Russian expert: OSCE Minsk Group is not effective, otherwise, at least some results would have been achieved

Interview with Alexander Nikitin, Director of the Center for Euro-Atlantic Security at Moscow State Institute of International Relations, President of the Russian Political Science Association.


According to U.S. representative to the OSCE Ian Kelly, Americans will try to find a formula for settlement of the Karabakh conflict during the forthcoming OSCE summit in Astana. Is U.S. initiative able to move the settlement process from the "deadlock"?  

I think, in general, the OSCE is an inefficient ground to find ways to resolve the Karabakh conflict. So, the U.S. is unlikely to choose the OSCE as a platform for promoting their initiatives. There are other formats: Group of Eight - G8, UN Security Council, regional organizations. But the OSCE format is not adequate.

So, you mean Minsk Group co-chairs are unable to resolve the conflict?

It is clear that OSCE Minsk Group is not effective. Otherwise, at least some results would have been achieved over the past years. The same thing can be said about the UN. Both are slow to act and are full of internal contradictions.
 
Is there any compromise between principles of territorial integrity and right of nations to self-determination?

I think such a compromise is possible. We can talk about granting Nagorno-Karabakh a high degree of autonomy without violating territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. As regards the right to self-determination, this option can be considered only when we are dealing with a nation, not nationality. Nation is more complicated concept than nationality.
 
And it is not in vain that the UN principles stipulate the right of nations, rather than any ethnic or social group, to self-determination. There are about 2,000 ethnic groups, but a total of 200 states in the world. There is a difference. This means that not every ethnic or social group has the right to self-determination. List of signs a self-determined nation is quite long: the independent economy, protected borders, the language of international communication, etc. There are many parameters and one can speak about the right to self-determination only when they are met.

May the war over Karabakh resume if the negotiations finally reach a deadlock?

Hard to say. But I think that the parties still feel the need to continue negotiations, and there is no feeling that the war in Karabakh will begin very soon.


/Day.Az/