The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict cannot be considered “frozen,” Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, stated in his interview with the OSCE Magazine.

The situation on the front lines has not changed dramatically since the cease-fire was agreed. There are unfortunately a number of casualties each year — approximately 30 (occasionally civilians) — as a result of shooting incidents on the Line of Contact and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. In 2009, the number of fatalities decreased to 19, almost certainly as a result of the intensity of the negotiations.

The Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan met six times in 2009.

Confidentiality is crucial to any such process. A certain element of trust has to be fostered so as to maintain a dialogue between leaders of countries that technically remain in a state of war with each other.

“Before an agreement is reached, it would be difficult to put it up for public discussion, as this could torpedo the process. For that reason, the leaders have requested that the process be completely confidential. The extent of what can be disclosed has to be carefully measured. Above all, one also has to look at the mandate. The negotiations are mandated to the Minsk Group Co-Chairs. I am a silent witness. However, I would like to underline that the Presidents of the Co-Chair countries, when they gathered in L’Aquila for the G8 Summit in July 2009, disclosed the fundamental elements of the Basic Principles that are being negotiated. The so called &‘L’Aquila Statement’ outlines the main elements of the talks at the moment,” Andrzej Kasprzyk said.

With the help and support of the mediators, it is up to the parties to find a balance between the principles of self-determination and territorial integrity, Kasprzyk said.

A successful mediator has to be an impartial, balanced and transparent broker. Anybody with a hidden agenda or one’s own interests involved will sooner or later be rejected by the parties, he said.

T.P.