Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

TBILISI: Oskanian Content with Results of Armenian-Azeri Summit

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • TBILISI: Oskanian Content with Results of Armenian-Azeri Summit

    Oskanian Content with Results of Armenian-Azeri Summit

    Caucaz.com, Georgia
    Sept 2 2005

    Baku, September 1 - The weekend meeting in Russia between the
    presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan marked another important step
    towards the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Foreign
    Minister Vartan Oskanian said on Tuesday.

    Oskanian said he and his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov will
    now try to build on progress made by Robert Kocharian and Ilham Aliev.

    "True, no breakthrough was achieved during that meeting, but we do
    consider it positive and believe that the negotiations are following
    a positive course," he told a news conference. "The most important
    thing is that the presidents' meeting in Kazan enables the [foreign]
    ministers to continue their work. I think that there will be a meeting
    of the ministers in the near future. A visit to the region by the
    co-chairs [of the OSCE Minsk Group is also possible."

    "I think that we have some work to do regarding the results of the
    presidents' meeting and that there is now new room for continuing
    the process," Oskanian said, adding that he and Mammadyarov received
    relevant "instructions" from the two presidents. He did not say what
    those instructions are.

    "Each meeting at the level of the presidents is a step forward,
    but it's still early to speak of serious progress," Mammadyarov told
    reporters on Monday.

    International mediators and the United States in particular hoped the
    Kazan meeting will clear the final hurdle to a Karabakh settlement.
    It is not clear if Aliev and Kocharian lived up to their expectations.

    It is widely assumed that the two leaders will not sign or
    announce any compromise agreements on Karabakh before the November
    parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan and constitutional referendum
    in Armenia. Unpopular concessions could significantly strengthen
    opposition groups in both countries that are plotting fresh attempts
    to topple the ruling regimes in Baku and Yerevan.

    Oskanian said the upcoming polls will have no bearing on the peace
    process. "We have not yet reached a point where we need to inform our
    publics about details," he explained. "We are still not there. That
    is why it is not worth thinking about that."

    "We are simply not close to putting anything on paper. So nobody is
    thinking yet about the restrictive impact of the elections or the
    referendum on the negotiations," he added.
Working...
X