NATO not to interfere in Armenian – Azerbaijani conflict

Yesterday at press conference in Moscow NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the South Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai stated that the alliance is not intended to interfere in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process.

“NATO does not see its role in Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict settlement process, although we are concerned with the present relations of both countries,” J. Appathurai declared.

He also said that NATO will not interfere the issues concerning South Ossetia and Abkhazia as well.

The Nagorno-Karabakh (armed) conflict broke out back in 1991, when, subsequent to the demand for self-determination of the Nagorno-Karabakh people, Azerbaijani authorities attempted to resolve the issue through ethnic cleansings, carried out by Soviet security forces (KGB special units) under the pretext of the implementation of the passport regime and by launching of large-scale military operations, which left thousands dead and caused considerable material damage. A cease-fire agreement was established in 1994. Negotiations on the settlement of the conflict are being conducted under the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen (Russia, USA, France) and on the basis of their Madrid proposals, presented in November, 2007.
Azerbaijan has not yet implemented the 4 resolutions of the UN Security Council adopted in 1993, by continuing to provoke arms race in the region and openly violating one of the basic principles of the international law non-use of force or threat of force.