ArmInfo.The deployment of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh was not included in the discussions of the OSCE Minsk Group. This opinion is shared by Ambassador Carey Cavanaugh, who in 1999-2001 was the co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh from the United States.
In particular, according to the former diplomat, unlike all other elements of the ceasefire agreement in Nagorno-Karabakh of November 9, 2020, concluded with the mediation of Russia, the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the region was not part of the previously discussed issues in the negotiations, which were mediated by Minsk Group.
Cavanaugh was the American co-chair of the Group when Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev and Armenian President Robert Kocharian met in Key West in April 2001. According to many experts, in the negotiations preceding the meeting in Key West, the parties were closest to a peace agreement on Nagorno- Karabakh. However, no agreement was reached.
According to Cavanaugh, one of the factors that undermined then public trust was the shooting of the Armenian parliament on October 27, 1999. Prime Minister of Armenia Vazgen Sargsyan and Speaker of the Parliament Karen Demirchyan were also among the eight who died then.
As Cavanaugh noted, "several key persons who would have played an important role in the future implementation of the decision [on Nagorno-Karabakh] were killed."
"That day I was in Armenia with a delegation of the American co-chairmanship. In the morning, at the Presidential Palace, we met with the President, Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister. From there we left for the airport and flew to Ankara, and when we arrived in Ankara, we learned that the Armenian parliament had been shot, that the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Parliament had been killed, '' the former OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair said in an interview with the Armenian Service of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty.
According to Cavanaugh, at that time there were serious discussions between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
"As co-chairs of the Minsk Group, representing Russia, France, the United States, we knew that the leaders of the two countries were talking about very serious decisions. But a common man in Baku or Yerevan at that time could only hear that there was no compromise. On the one hand, ordinary citizens would hear that control over all the occupied territories would remain. On the other hand, they would have heard that nothing would be offered that would be higher than broad autonomy, "he said.
Cavanaugh did not go into details regarding the then discussions, noting that now is not the best moment for this, given that the parties may still return to possible compromises at the negotiating table.
"I would like to think that today [Armenian Prime Minister Nikol] Pashinyan and [Azerbaijani President Ilham] Aliyev can discuss possible compromises more effectively. I don't think this is happening, but the opportunity to bring the parties back to such a conversation still exists. And it is quite possible that, taking into account what is spelled out in the ceasefire agreement, they are ready to negotiate other things as well," the former mediator noted.
Speaking about the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, Cavanaugh noted that all elements of this agreement were discussed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and were part of the dialogue, with the exception of the deployment of Russian peacekeepers.
"There was a discussion in the Minsk Group about what would be the best solution if the peacekeepers or observers did not represent either the neighboring countries or the co-chairing countries. I think that Russia fully agreed with this, since it was the most politically advantageous approach to this issue. Why did Russia send its peacekeepers? I think this was due to the degree of danger of the situation, with the speed with which the Armenian side was losing the territories under its control, and the rapid development of events around Shushi," Cavanaugh said.