Does Berlin seek to mediate Karabakh peace process?

Germany advocates peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and seeks to make its contribution to the peace process, says German Chancellor Angela Merkel

“Germany seeks a mediating role in the resolution of the conflict. We believe that the Council of Europe and the European Union could come forward with an initiative to that end, to make a certain contribution to the settlement of the conflict. Azerbaijan will hold negotiations with the European Commission in this respect,” Merkel said at a joint press conference with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on January 21 in Berlin.

Merkel said Germany is a member of the OSCE Minsk Group and supports the negotiations of the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders mediated by the Minsk Group’s co-chair countries – France, Russia and the United States.

“We believe that in this conflict there is only one way – peaceful settlement. The frequent ceasefire breaches are a negative factor, indeed.  I think, Russia plays a certain role here. I just want to mention this,” Merkel declared.

Meanwhile, the German Embassy in Yerevan recommended the official reports available at the German government website. “Read the official reports on the website of the German government. The Embassy does not comment on other issues,” the diplomatic office told panorama.am.

According to the German Government website, the Chancellor expressed her concern over the increasing incidence of ceasefire violations and offered support in principle. "Germany would like to offer help in resolving the problem." She reported that they had discussed whether or not the EU ought to take the initiative.

Meanwhile, answering questions of journalists, Merkel said that Berlin is concerned over the increased violations of the ceasefire and will closely follow the developments. “I should say with caution that Russia plays a pivotal role. Russia and Armenia may have a common stand here. So, you can see that we do not apply different standards,” she said.