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ITAR-TASS, Russia
February 6, 2013 Wednesday 10:09 PM GMT+4
Duma speaker welcomes results of talks on Nagorno-Karabakh
PARIS February 6
- Trilateral talks on Nagorno-Karabakh bear fruit and "they are not so
bad", State Duma speaker Sergei Naryshkin said.
"You called the talks on Nagorno-Karabakh between Medvedev, Aliyev and
Sargsyan and their results a failure. I disagree for two reasons,"
Naryshkin said at a meeting with French lawmakers on Wednesday,
February 6.
"We are realists and did not expect the goals of the negotiations to
be achieved quickly," he said, adding that "the conflict has gone too
far to be settled quickly and easily."
He said "these trilateral talks produce results and they are not so bad."
"A large number of positions have been coordinated, with which to
continue the discussion," he added.
Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs and Ties with
Compatriots Leonid Slutsky noted that Nagorno-Karabakh "is a very
sensitive and delicate issue which is 23 years old". "It's hard to
move forward," he admitted.
"We are now trying to use parliamentary diplomacy to solve this
problem, as has been suggested by Sergei Naryshkin," Slutsky said.
He believes that the first step should be a departure of troops from
the districts around Nagorno-Karabakh".
"There is a draft agreement in which only two or three clauses have
been agreed to. The point is in withdrawing the armed forces from
these territories," Slutsky said.
But the main point in his opinion "concerns a referendum and this is a
stumbling block."
"We hope for progress on this matter as there are all reasons for it," he added.
He expects "to get things off the ground the end of the year and make
progress on the question of referendum".
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began on February 22, 1988. On November
29, 1989 direct rule in Nagorno-Karabakh was ended and Azerbaijan
regained control of the region. However later a joint session of the
Armenian parliament and the top legislative body of Nagorno-Karabakh
proclaimed the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
On December 10, 1991, Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh held a referendum,
boycotted by local Azeris, that approved the creation of an
independent state.
The struggle over Nagorno-Karabakh escalated after both Armenia and
Azerbaijan obtained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By the
end of 1993, the conflict had caused thousands of casualties and
created hundreds of thousands of refugees on both sides. An unofficial
ceasefire was reached on May 12, 1994.
As of August, 2008, the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group were
attempting to negotiate a full settlement of the conflict. On August
2, 2008, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan travelled to Moscow for talks with Dmitry Medvedev, who
was Russian president at that time. As a result, the three presidents
signed an agreement that calls for talks on a political settlement of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
February 6, 2013 Wednesday 10:09 PM GMT+4
Duma speaker welcomes results of talks on Nagorno-Karabakh
PARIS February 6
- Trilateral talks on Nagorno-Karabakh bear fruit and "they are not so
bad", State Duma speaker Sergei Naryshkin said.
"You called the talks on Nagorno-Karabakh between Medvedev, Aliyev and
Sargsyan and their results a failure. I disagree for two reasons,"
Naryshkin said at a meeting with French lawmakers on Wednesday,
February 6.
"We are realists and did not expect the goals of the negotiations to
be achieved quickly," he said, adding that "the conflict has gone too
far to be settled quickly and easily."
He said "these trilateral talks produce results and they are not so bad."
"A large number of positions have been coordinated, with which to
continue the discussion," he added.
Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs and Ties with
Compatriots Leonid Slutsky noted that Nagorno-Karabakh "is a very
sensitive and delicate issue which is 23 years old". "It's hard to
move forward," he admitted.
"We are now trying to use parliamentary diplomacy to solve this
problem, as has been suggested by Sergei Naryshkin," Slutsky said.
He believes that the first step should be a departure of troops from
the districts around Nagorno-Karabakh".
"There is a draft agreement in which only two or three clauses have
been agreed to. The point is in withdrawing the armed forces from
these territories," Slutsky said.
But the main point in his opinion "concerns a referendum and this is a
stumbling block."
"We hope for progress on this matter as there are all reasons for it," he added.
He expects "to get things off the ground the end of the year and make
progress on the question of referendum".
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began on February 22, 1988. On November
29, 1989 direct rule in Nagorno-Karabakh was ended and Azerbaijan
regained control of the region. However later a joint session of the
Armenian parliament and the top legislative body of Nagorno-Karabakh
proclaimed the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
On December 10, 1991, Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh held a referendum,
boycotted by local Azeris, that approved the creation of an
independent state.
The struggle over Nagorno-Karabakh escalated after both Armenia and
Azerbaijan obtained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By the
end of 1993, the conflict had caused thousands of casualties and
created hundreds of thousands of refugees on both sides. An unofficial
ceasefire was reached on May 12, 1994.
As of August, 2008, the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group were
attempting to negotiate a full settlement of the conflict. On August
2, 2008, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan travelled to Moscow for talks with Dmitry Medvedev, who
was Russian president at that time. As a result, the three presidents
signed an agreement that calls for talks on a political settlement of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.