YEREVAN. – 168 Zham newspaper spoke with Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group former Co-Chair of the US, former US Ambassador to Azerbaijan, and former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Matthew Bryza, with respect to the avenues for resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict.

As per Bryza, a golden mean needs to be found between the “Kazan and Madrid documents.” According to the US diplomat, Armenia says it supports the “Kazan document,” whereas Azerbaijan—the “Madrid document,” albeit it did not want to sign this document at the initial phase.

Bryza expressed the view that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, together with the presidents of their countries—i.e. Russia, US, and France, would be wise to push forward what Russian President Vladimir Putin had proposed in Saint Petersburg, Russia. As per the US diplomat, the substance of this proposal is to mitigate the differences between these two approaches. 

In Bryza’s view, the main difference is the fact that the “Madrid document” speaks about the return of all seven Karabakh-contiguous territories to Azerbaijan, whereas the “Kazan document” refers to solely five such territories.

As per Bryza, this matter can be fundamentally resolved, and there may also be an agreement. But, in his view, it is meaningless to talk about the points in this agreement, if the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan do not spend time with, and do not restore trust between, one another.

Matthew Bryza added that if this does not happen, none of the conflicting parties will feel confident enough to make concessions, and the statements will be made solely to resolve some political issues.

As per the US diplomat, the two presidents need to sit down and speak with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.