Parties to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must immediately return to peace – Richard Mills

In an interview with Tert.am, US Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills addressed the recent developments around Nagorno-Karabakh, stressing the importance of strengthening confidence-building measures to prevent future hostilities.

Mr Ambassador, with your permission, I would like to begin the interview with the recent developments at the Karabakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact. After Azerbaijan’s use of heavy artillery, the Armenian side said they had informed the the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries [US, France and Russia] of the incidents. What possible steps can and must the three co-chairs undertake in this situation?

The outbreak of violence last week along the Line of Contact was a source of great concern to myself, to the US Government and to the co-chairs. You saw the co-chairs immediately issued a statement calling on both sides to maintain restraint along the Line of Contact and calm the situation. I was pleased that the violence has subsided and that the two sides took actions to help prevent an escalation. But this outbreak of violence, I think, only underscores that - as the co-chairs said – the need for both sides to immediately return to engagement in negotiations on finding a peaceful settlement. There can be no military solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh’s future. All the military solution will do is to produce more tragedy, more death,  and hold back development across the region.

So do you think the Minsk Group has undertaken enough measures to prevent the conflict from entering a new phase of tension?

Yes, I think the Minsk Group did what they could to encourage de-escalation and restraint. I think they set the right things to both parties and again ultimately underscored the solution is both sides returning immediately to intensive negotiations and also, implementation, as a starting point, of the confidence-building measures. They were agreed last summer in St Petersburg and Vienna.

I certainly agree with you that if we could get the confidence-building measures in place, if we create the right atmosphere for trust and confidence for both sides to begin to talk about serious negotiations and serious settlements. That’s why my government, the US Government, the co-chairs, the co-chairs’ governments were pleased that the two sides did reach a preliminary agreement, a full agreement, on confidence-building measures last summer. It is now important that the parties implement those confidence-building measures. That’s, I think, the message that’s coming out of the co-chairs and certainly the message that we are delivering in both capitals – that we need to move forward on these confidence-building measures.

Armenia repeatedly voices concerns that the Minsk Group’s statements, which are not specifically worded, encourage Azerbaijan to increase from time to time the tension along the Line of Contact. Do you think the Minsk Group really makes that kind of statements and if so, what’s the reason, Mr Ambassador?

I think there is a misunderstanding about what the role of Minsk Group is, sometimes. The Minsk Group are mediators; they are facilitators of discussion and dialogue and help the parties reach a settlement. They are not referees designed to call out responsibility for bad actions. That wasn’t in their regional mandate, and it ultimately is, I think, what they believe would not be helpful for that as a facilitator of dialogue. What they do do, though, is that they are very clear - publicly and privately - when there is concern about one state’s actions or another, and the risk that that action could have on their work. They make those points privately in Baku or in Yerevan as appropriate, but their public statements are designed to move the process forward of mediation and settlement - and that’s what their focus is – and to express the international community’s view on the need to de-escalate the situation and find a peaceful solution.