Shusha Declaration to be very beneficial for South Caucasus – Bryza

The Shusha Declaration signed between Azerbaijan and Turkey will be very beneficial for the South Caucasus region as a whole, Matthew Bryza, former U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan and former OSCE Minsk Group co-chair, told News.Az.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a Shusha Declaration on allied relations in the Azerbaijani city of Shusha, on Tuesday.

Bryza noted that the Shusha Declaration will create a new model of economic cooperation in the South Caucasus, involving Armenia.

The former diplomat said the United States and NATO, of course, do not want to see destabilization in South Caucasus.

“The U.S. and NATO, as partners with economic interests in the region, want peace here,” he noted.

Bryza said he does not believe that Armenia will understand the essence and benefits of the Shusha Declaration in a short period of time, especially on the eve of parliamentary elections.

“However, I believe that after the elections are over and stability prevails, Armenia will understand how this declaration beneficial for itself and other regional countries is,” the former envoy added.

He noted that Azerbaijan’s restoration of its territorial integrity and the signing of the declaration with Turkey, a NATO member, mean that the Alliance will closely follow the situation in the region and contribute to stability there. 

“In fact, NATO’s Charter also envisages the clause “to retaliate in the event of aggression by a third country” reflected in the Shusha Declaration. This does not mean that Azerbaijan has a direct agreement with NATO, but the signing of such an agreement with Turkey, a NATO member, is important,” Bryza concluded.

News.Az 

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