Resolution of Conflict Between Armenia and Azerbaijan About the Region Called Nagorno Karabakh - Essay Example

Deadly skirmishes flared up in 1991, and in the following two years Armenian forces gained control of Nagorno-Karabakh and also occupied nearly 20 percent of Azerbaijani terrain. The leaders of the Nagorno-Karabakh area have declared independence; however this claim has not been recognized by any state. This fight between Armenians and Azeris left over 15,000 people dead. Solution Efforts The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has been working towards mediation solution since 1992.

This cooperation is led by a subdivision of OSCE members known as the Minsk Group. Regrettably, very little progress has been made by the OSCE. It is because each side keeps insisting on discordant conditions that the other party simply doesn’t accept. The Armenians don’t want to discuss removing of their troops from Azeri regions until Nagorno-Karabakh is recognized as an independent region. On the other hand Azerbaijan asserts its unanimous territorial integrity and demands that Armenia withdraws its troops before discussion on any other matters, these ‘other matters’ include the ultimate status of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Minsk Group suggested a “phased” plan in September 1997. This plan entailed Armenian withdrawal from seven Azeri provinces. This was the first phase of the plan. Then there was supposed to be a discussion of the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh. This ‘phased’ plan was accepted by Azerbaijan, accepted by Armenia (with some reservations) but rejected immediately by Nagorno-Karabakh. The president of Armenia was forced to resign in February 1998. The president had accepted the plan conditionally.

Detente Detente is a French word and refers to archery – when the bow is arched and suddenly released, detente refers to that relaxation in the tension of the string. Talking of an era of detente means the period in the Cold War when efforts were made to notch down rigidities between the Soviet Union and the United States. The important thing is that this Detente couldn’t bring any major change in the structure of the result of the Cold War. The Soviet Union and the United States remained foes and US plan was still to enclose the spreading power of the Soviet Union (Mitchell, n.d.).

Detente could only bring subtle changes. Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon lead a gentler, kinder, and most importantly a cheaper way to contain the expansion of the Soviet Union. Both Nixon and Kissinger started thinking of other ways to contain the Soviet Union except solely relying on the nuclear threat issue. Probable Solution(s) The solution recipe from the kitchen of Nixon and Kissinger won’t be able to help resolve the Nagorno Karabakh issue. If there is ill-will involved then detente won’t be able to help much.

The solution to the conflict of Karabakh dispute needs more long-lasting strategies to make sure that things don’t revert back to square one. There is probably only one candid and long-term solution to the Karabakh dispute: The three parties involved in this bone of contention must agree that there needs to be recognition of territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. This integrity (and its recognition) needs to be coupled with real self-governing for Karabakh. This governing body would consist of Armenians.

“For the strategic calculators, the main line of distinction ran between negotiation (whether based on perceived power or not) and military