James Warlick: Confidence between two parties of Karabakh conflict is of vital importance today
"Washington looks forward to new efforts and confidences in peaceful negotiations on the Karabakh conflict settlement," stated James Warlick, the OSCE Minsk Group U.S. co-chair, in an interview with the Azerbaijani news agency "Turan".
Referring to the OSCE Minsk Group’s forthcoming visit to the region, he stated that his mission there is to make the people and governments of the two countries take a decision, which will secure a lasting peace in the region.
"My acquaintance with the region confirmed that the people want to settle the conflict and they realize that there will be losses. The conflict is settlement will bring prosperity to the Caucasus, I'm sure. Therefore, we must look for and find such ways that will allow people and governments to achieve this goal," stated the co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group.
According to Warlick, considering the fact that today the mediators are trying to sit the leaders of two counties down at the table for the first time during a rather long period, "the credibility of the parties towards each other becomes of vital importance."
"Next week we're going to leave for the region for meeting the two Presidents, and we hope that they will make a decision about their meeting. It is important to keep the doors open, to keep the ties and conduct productive discussions on the way forward. I hope that the OSCE Minsk Group can help with this," Warlick stated.
When asked about the time and the place of the future meeting, the diplomat stated that this would depend on presidents. "I hope that it will take place sooner, but it depends on them," stated the OSCE Minsk Group U.S. co-chairman.
As for the negotiations’ details and the discussion topics, the diplomat said that they should look forward realistically. "At present we have to undertake practical steps in order to conduct full-scale negotiations and reach a solution. This is what the people of Armenia and Azerbaijan expect," James Warlick believes.