Keith Jinks, Acting Spokesperson of the OSCE headquarters in Vienna considers that “the upcoming meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents in Paris provides a humble possibility to achieve progress.” When commenting on the visit of the OSCE CiO to Yerevan and Baku Mr. Jinks stated that the visit was bearing a familiarization nature. “He had to know the opinion of the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders and determine the potential of possible compromise for the upcoming meeting of the Presidents in Paris. As you know, this is one of the series of meetings meant for stepwise restoration of peace in the region,” he told Echo of Moscow.
When asked whether the nearly simultaneous visits of the OSCE CiO and Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov to Armenia and Azerbaijan is a coincidence, Keith Jinks said, “I suppose it’s a mere coincidence. This was a very short but fruitful visit aimed at familiarization with the real situation in the republics and establishment of personal and business contacts. I think these tasks were fulfilled. Presently there is a humble opinion to achieve a breakthrough during the Presidents’ meeting in Paris. However this “window of possibility” that appeared after the adoption of constitutional amendments in Armenia and parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan demands serious work and concentration on unsettled problems. I suppose, the most important thing is the stepwise resolution of the problems. Nevertheless obstacles remain. They refer to the issue of territories, which is being discussed at present. The OSCE is ready to assist in deployment of peacekeeping forces in the region.”
According to the OSCE Spokesman the possibility of deploying peacekeeping forces in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict region was not discussed in detail during Karel De Gucht’s visit to the region. “The OSCE has a planning group dealing with the issue during many years. However it has not been put on the agenda yet,” he noted.
