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Jonathan Henick: â€œMaybe the greatest wish of Matthew Bryza is to solve Nagorno Karabakh conflictâ€

13 June 2008 16:10 (UTC +04:00)

Now the American Co-Chair Matthew Bryza can speak about the prospects of the peace process better than I do. I see no alternative to the peaceful settlement of the conflict,â€ public affairs officer of the US embassy in Azerbaijan Jonathan Henick said while meeting with the members of Womenâ€™s Media Watch, the Union of Women Journalists of Azerbaijan, APA reports. He said that status-quo was not to the advantage of Azerbaijan.
â€œWar may be a tragedy for the sides. Thatâ€™s why we should work for the peaceful settlement of this conflict and will see the fruits of our efforts,â€ he said.
Jonathan Henick shared his views on the process of peaceful settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
â€œThe way of the settlement of the conflict is not a very creative work. There may be a way of solution, but this way of solution requires foreign support. For example, there are completely destroyed places in the occupied territories in Nagorno Karabakh conflict. If we solve Karabakh conflict, these regions will be restored again. It will need the help of the international community. There are a lot of mines in these territories. Though Azerbaijan has its own agency for mine action, this work can not be done by one agency. On the other hand, the settlement of the conflict depends on the level of mutual confidence between the sides. Mediation of influential countries having interests in the region may help increase the level of confidence between the sides.
I think neither Azerbaijan nor Armenia will accept peacekeeping forces only from Turkey or Russia. Co-chair countries bring opportunities to the negotiations table to mobilize the international community. It is necessary for humanitarian assistance, for organization of peacekeeping forces and etc. Certainly the most influential countries in this process are the conflicting partiesâ€. Jonathan Henick said the conflicting parties and mediators advocated for the peaceful solution to the conflict. â€œI think Azerbaijan, Armenia and three mediators want peaceful solution not depending on what happened in the past. I can dispute with you that Russia is not interested in the conflict which creates instability on its borders. Despite the peace process, this situation can be out of the stability. Is it true that non-solution to the Karabakh conflict prevents improvement of Azerbaijani-Russian relations, isnâ€™t it? Russian leadership realizes that the easiest way to achieve strong relations with Azerbaijan is peaceful way of solution accepted by both sidesâ€. Jonathan Henick answered the question about different statements co-chairman Matthew Bryza made in Baku and Yerevan. â€œMatthew Bryza is very serious diplomat. Naturally he is smiling, he is sweet, but these are his personal features. I know Matthew Bryza very well. May be his greatest wish is to solve Karabakh conflict. He will do his best to achieve it. It is true that such cases happen when the diplomats like Bryza and me give an interview. I donâ€™t say that journalists are not serious and professional. Misunderstandings occur even the journalist is serious and it will occur further. Therefore both journalists and diplomats they work hardly to avoid itâ€.