INSTRUCTION - MINSK GROUP RESPONSE TO SYG RE:

UNCLAS STATE 124950 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AJ FR PREL RS ZJ XJ SUBJECT: INSTRUCTION - MINSK GROUP RESPONSE TO SYG RE: UNGA RESOLUTION ON OCCUPIED TERRITORIES IN AZERBAIJAN ¶1. The Department instructs USUN to deliver the response below to the Secretary General. The response was jointly drafted and agreed upon by the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group (United States, Russia and France). The Co-Chairs agreed that the U.S. would deliver the joint response under U.S. cover letter and signature. ¶2. Begin Text: Dear Mr. Secretary General: In response to your request for information from our countries regarding the implementation of UN General Assembly resolution 62/243 of March 14, 2008, 'The situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan,' which was passed with 39 votes in favor, 7 votes against, and 100 abstentions, we are submitting with this letter the report of the three Co-Chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group dealing with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (the United States, Russia, and France) to the Permanent Council of the OSCE on November 6, 2008, outlining our activities relating to the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement during the past year. As we noted in our explanation of vote on Resolution 62/243 on March 14, 2008, our three countries had jointly proposed to the two parties a set of basic principles for the peaceful settlement of the conflict on the margins of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Madrid in November 2007. Those basic principles were founded on the provisions of the Helsinki Final Act, including those related to refraining from the threat or use of force, the territorial integrity of States, and the equal rights and self-determination of peoples. The proposal transmitted to the two sides in Madrid comprised a balanced package of principles that was then, and is still currently, under negotiation. Our countries viewed Resolution 62/243 as selectively propagating only certain of those principles to the exclusion of others, without considering the Co-Chairs, proposal in its balanced entirety. This lack of balance forced our countries to vote against the resolution, much to our regret. Nevertheless, in our explanation of vote, and again today, we reaffirm our support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. We are still convinced today that the most effective way for Azerbaijan to secure its territorial integrity is to continue its increasingly constructive discussions with Armenia to finalize the basic principles our countries proposed to both parties in Madrid, and thereby establish the framework for a comprehensive settlement that also incorporates the principles of self-determination and non-use of force in a mutually acceptable way. In conclusion, we note that on November 2, 2008, the President of Azerbaijan, together with the Presidents of Armenia and Russia, signed a joint declaration on November 2, 2008 in Moscow in which they reaffirmed 'the importance of continuing the mediation efforts of the Co-Chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group with regard to their meetings with the parties in Madrid on 29 November, 2007 and subsequent discussions with a view to further developing the basic principles of a political settlement.' RICE