(2010-0346-F) Nagorno-Karabakh

The materials in FOIA 2013-0346-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topice of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related materials. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict had its roots in the formation of the Soviet Union. Nagorno-Karabakh is an ethnically Armenian region in southwest modern-day Azerbaijan. In 1921, after originally having voted to place the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast within Armenia, the future Soviet Union’s Caucasus Bureau ultimately gave the region to Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan. The primarily Armenian people of Nagorno-Karabakh were unhappy with the decision. Throughout the mid-20th century, the inhabitants of both Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh expressed their displeasure through petitions and demonstrations. By the 1980s, the people of Azerbaijan had begun to speak up, insisting that Nagorno-Karabakh was historically Azerbaijani territory. By 1988, fighting had broken out between the Karabakh Armenians and Azerbaijanis. The fighting escalated into a war that lasted throughout the end of the Soviet Union and was still ongoing when President Clinton took office in January 1993. In 1992, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) created the the Minsk Group to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the conflict between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Nagorno-Karabakh. The participating nations were: the United States, France, Russia, Belarus, Germany, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, and Turkey. During the early Clinton administration, John Maresca served as the U.S Special Negotiator on Nagorno-Karabakh and representative to the Minsk Group. Following his departure, State Department Coordinator for Regional Affairs in the New Independent States, Joseph Presel, took his position in 1994. President Clinton officially named him the Special Negotiator with the rank of Ambassador in 1995. Two other State Department employees, Carey Cavanaugh and Donald Keyser also assisted with the U.S. role in the negotiations. After numerous failed attempts, representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as the Russian Representitive CSCE Minsk Group, Vladimir Kazimirov, signed a lasting ceasefire on May 5, 1994. The Bishkek Protocal, as it was called, established the following guidelines: granted autonomy to Nagorno-Karabakh under Azerbaijani sovereignty, called for a third-party peacekeeping force, arranged for the return of refugees, demanded the withdrawal from occupied territories, and gave special status to the region linking Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia. The ceasefire left the final status of the region and the settlement of the conflict for later negotiations. The 1994 ceasefire has largely held, but as of July 2015 there has been no permanent resolution of the conflict. The Minsk Group continues to hold talks in pursuit of a peaceful settlement. The Clinton Presidential Records processed in response to this cables consist of materials from the NSC Cables, Emails, and Records Management System. The NSC Cables include relevent press materials from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh, the United Nations, the United States, and the other participants of the Minsk Group. There are also cables discussing logistical matters for Minsk Group missions and travel to the region. Similarly, the NSC Emails contain correspondence between National Security Council staff regarding press materials and administrative documents for high-level meetings on the conflict. The NSC Records Management materials contain one file consisting of correspondence from Congressman Frank Wolf regarding the appointment of the United States Special Negotiator on Nagorno-Karabakh. The majority of these records related to this FOIA case are closed for national security reasons.