The newly elected secretary-general of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said on Tuesday that Turkey could play an important role in Nagorno-Karabakh. 
In an exclusive interview to Turkish Today`s Zaman newspaper, Lamberto Zannier said: "Turkey is an important player in the region. It has a political contribution to offer."
According to Zannier, Turkey`s involvement need not be an official one. "I am not talking about a formal role in the negotiations, but in real terms. Turkey is bordering both countries involved in the conflict," he said.
While the OSCE is doing the best it can, Zannier said it is up to the parties involved in the conflict to step up to the plate. Zannier stressed there must be political will on behalf of the parties to end the historic conflict. "What I said this morning was there is a lot of focus on the mechanism, but there is also an issue of whether the parties are ready to make a deal," he said.
"We are trying to manage the situation on the ground, but the situation becomes problematic in security terms," he said. The next step, according to the OSCE secretary general, is ensuring the problem does not escalate further. "In general, if we cannot line up all of the conditions and solve the conflict, then the next best thing we can do is manage the problem so it does not grow worse. So that is our next step. It is up to everyone to keep making efforts from different angles."

AzerTAc