Tweet
YEREVAN DISMISSES ALIEV CLAIMS ON KARABAKH
By Ruzanna Khachatrian and Irina Hovannisian
Radio Liberty, Czech Republic
May 4 2007
Armenian leaders on Friday shrugged off Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliev's claims that they have agreed to the liberation of all seven
Azerbaijani districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh as part of a peace
accord currently discussed by the conflicting parties.
Aliev made the comments as he inaugurated a newly built settlement for
Azerbaijani refugees near Baku earlier in the day. Azerbaijani media
quoted him as saying that the Armenian side is ready to pull out of
even the Lachin district which serves as the shortest overland link
between Karabakh and Armenia proper. He said that under the terms of
the peace deal proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group the land corridor
would be temporarily controlled by international mediators before
being placed under Azerbaijani control.
Armenian and Karabakh leaders have repeatedly said that Lachin's
return to Azerbaijan is non-negotiable. They have also set additional
conditions for Armenian withdrawal from Kelbajar, the other Azerbaijani
district sandwished between Armenia and Karabakh.
"I don't known what goals the president of Azerbaijan is pursuing, but
it is known to everyone that we have principles and those principles
haven't changed," Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian told RFE/RL. "So
take Aliev's statements easy."
"The statements relating to territorial concessions are untrue," said
Vahan Hovannisian, the deputy parliament speaker and a leader of the
governing Armenian Revolutionary Federation. "This is not first such
case in his political career."
In his speech, Aliev also said that Karabakh's status should be
determined after the liberation of the Armenian-occpuied districts
"within the framework of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity." "Those
[Karabakh Armenians] that want independence should move to Armenia,"
he said.
The Minsk Group's peace proposals seem to allow for international
recognition of Karabakh's secession from Azerbaijan by envisaging a
referendum of self-determination in the Armenian-populated territory.
The conflicting parties have yet to agree on the date and other
practical modalities of the proposed vote.
In a recent interview with the French-Armenian magazine "Nouvelles
d'Armenie," Sarkisian said the Karabakh conflict can be resolved "only
on the condition that Karabakh is will never be under Azerbaijani
control."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
By Ruzanna Khachatrian and Irina Hovannisian
Radio Liberty, Czech Republic
May 4 2007
Armenian leaders on Friday shrugged off Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliev's claims that they have agreed to the liberation of all seven
Azerbaijani districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh as part of a peace
accord currently discussed by the conflicting parties.
Aliev made the comments as he inaugurated a newly built settlement for
Azerbaijani refugees near Baku earlier in the day. Azerbaijani media
quoted him as saying that the Armenian side is ready to pull out of
even the Lachin district which serves as the shortest overland link
between Karabakh and Armenia proper. He said that under the terms of
the peace deal proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group the land corridor
would be temporarily controlled by international mediators before
being placed under Azerbaijani control.
Armenian and Karabakh leaders have repeatedly said that Lachin's
return to Azerbaijan is non-negotiable. They have also set additional
conditions for Armenian withdrawal from Kelbajar, the other Azerbaijani
district sandwished between Armenia and Karabakh.
"I don't known what goals the president of Azerbaijan is pursuing, but
it is known to everyone that we have principles and those principles
haven't changed," Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian told RFE/RL. "So
take Aliev's statements easy."
"The statements relating to territorial concessions are untrue," said
Vahan Hovannisian, the deputy parliament speaker and a leader of the
governing Armenian Revolutionary Federation. "This is not first such
case in his political career."
In his speech, Aliev also said that Karabakh's status should be
determined after the liberation of the Armenian-occpuied districts
"within the framework of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity." "Those
[Karabakh Armenians] that want independence should move to Armenia,"
he said.
The Minsk Group's peace proposals seem to allow for international
recognition of Karabakh's secession from Azerbaijan by envisaging a
referendum of self-determination in the Armenian-populated territory.
The conflicting parties have yet to agree on the date and other
practical modalities of the proposed vote.
In a recent interview with the French-Armenian magazine "Nouvelles
d'Armenie," Sarkisian said the Karabakh conflict can be resolved "only
on the condition that Karabakh is will never be under Azerbaijani
control."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress