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Arman Melikyan: The Minsk Format Envisages Three Parties

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  • Arman Melikyan: The Minsk Format Envisages Three Parties

    ARMAN MELIKYAN: THE MINSK FORMAT ENVISAGES THREE PARTIES
    Tatul Hakobyan

    "Radiolur"
    17.05.2006 18:00

    May 18 Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan will leave for Strasburg to
    participate in the 116th session of the Committee of Ministers of the
    Council of Europe. In the framework of the visit Foreign Ministers
    of Armenian and Azerbaijan are scheduled to meet OSCE Minsk Group
    Co-Chairs. The way the process of settlement of the Karabakh conflict
    will be known after this meeting, since after the failed Rambouliet
    meeting the talks have found themselves in an uncertain deadlock.

    What does the Karabakh side expect from the Oskanyan-Mamedyarov meeting
    to be held in Strasburg and the visit of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs
    to the region? Adviser to NKR President Arman Melikyan said in his
    talk with "Radolur" correspondent, "We can have expectations only from
    ourselves, with others we can discuss different topics. But if there is
    a clash of interests and it's not surmountable, it does not mean the
    life is over. Twelve years have passed since the cease-fire, but we
    have no visible results today. It's a tragedy, which we cannot ignore."

    By the way, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mathew Bryza
    declared that the US evaluations of opportunities of Armenia
    and Azerbaijan to come to an agreement on the Karabakh issue are
    optimistic. Bryza said that "today the parties are closer to an
    agreement than before."

    According to the American diplomat, the governments of the two
    countries should demonstrate political courage to overcome the
    remained disagreements.

    "We consider that the coming few months will provide that opportunity,"
    Bryza assured.

    "Instead of having expectations from the experts it is more correct
    to strictly organize own activities, for instance, in regard to the
    controlled territories," Arman Melikyan said.

    "We have domestic problems, through resolution of which we can present
    ourselves to the world in a more advantageous way. For example, the
    issue of Armenian referees has been ignored, the Azeris ever speak
    about the Armenian refugees today, Armenia is silent, the mediators
    have forgotten about them. It is only Karabakh that has made this
    topic a matter of discussion. People were forcefully deported from
    Azerbaijan, they had many losses. I'm confident that if these people
    are given the chance to settle in Karabakh, and if Azerbaijan refuses
    to provide compensation, Karabakh will provide this reimbursement to
    Azerbaijani Armenians at the expense of these territories."

    To remind, the EU-Azerbaijan talks in the framework of the European
    Neighborhood Program have been suddenly suspended because the EU
    has certain doubts about the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. At
    least, Azerbaijani politicians, particularly Rasim Musabekov, keep
    to this opinion.

    "It is clearly noted in the documents signed with Moldova and Georgia
    that the territorial integrity of these countries is a priority,
    i.e. the European Union backs the territorial integrity of these
    countries. Azerbaijan insists on such formulation, while the EU gives
    evasive answers," he said.

    According to Musabekov, it is this issue that does not allow the
    parties to discuss the Actions Plans in the framework of the European
    Neighborhood Program.

    Executive Director on Azerbaijan of the Coordinating Bureau of the EU
    Technical Support Programs Asker Alekperov declared that "the document
    did nit include a point, according to which the Nagorno-Karabakh
    conflict will be settled on the basis of territorial integrity of
    Azerbaijan. The European Union excluded the point from the document,
    which disappointed the Azeri government.

    Therefore, this issue is still disputable." Does the international
    community conceive that Karabakh cannot be part of Azerbaijan?

    "I am confident that this comprehension has always existed. It is
    another issue how the Europeans will present the fact of Karabakh's
    not being part of Azerbaijan to Azeris. The European interests demand
    that the issue is settled in a peaceful way," Asker Alekperov said.

    Armen Melikyan said that the meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani
    Presidents cannot be considered part of the Minsk negotiations
    process. "These are consultations between the leaders of the two
    countries on the settlement of the issue. The Minsk format envisages
    three parties, and unless the third party is involved, this cannot
    be considered talks in the Minsk format.
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