Baku 'Doesn't Rule Out Karabakh Having Constitution'

[Hakobian Adrine]

Baku 'Doesn't Rule Out Karabakh Having Constitution'

26.05.2006 17:09

YEREVAN (YERKIR) - `Azerbaijan adheres to the peaceful settlement of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, however we should understand that 20%
of territories are seized and sooner or later we will do the utmost to
return them,'

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told reporters on May
25. He remarked that the OSCE MG Co-chairs comprehended Azerbaijan's
position and voiced hope that this position will be spelled out to
Yerevan.

`The matter concerns not new proposals but new ideas of the OSCE Minsk
Group. Azerbaijan can agree with some of them and disagree with the
others. However diplomacy implies the method of compromises and we
are awaiting the outcomes of the Yerevan talks,' Elmar Mammadyarov
said.

He also noted that Nagorno Karabakh `is a constituent of Azerbaijan
and any variant of the conflict settlement should proceed from the
postulates of the Azeri Constitution. At that he did not rule out that
Karabakh may have its Constitution. `Nakhichevan autonomous republic,
Tatarstan and Bashkortostan have their Constitution, for example,' he
said.

In his words, Montenegro's secession from Serbia is a not precedent
for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. `We understand that Karabakh's
status should be determined sooner or later, but not Armenians should
do it. First, Azeris should return to their homes and then the issue
will be put on the agenda,' Mammadyarov said. The Azeri FM advised not
to hurry with conclusions on the outcomes of the OSCE Minsk Group's
visit and wait for a formal statement.