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Oskanian Presents Details Of His Brussels Meetings

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  • Oskanian Presents Details Of His Brussels Meetings

    OSKANIAN PRESENTS DETAILS OF HIS BRUSSELS MEETINGS
    By Harry Tamrazian in Brussels

    Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
    Nov 16 2006

    Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian spoke of 'some little progress' made
    at the Armenian-Azeri ministerial talks in Brussels earlier this week,
    but said the "moderate expectations" from the meeting with his Azeri
    counterpart Elmar Mamedyarov were not fully met.

    "A general outline of agreement around the proposals and thoughts
    voiced during the Moscow meeting and discussed in Paris began to
    emerge, though I cannot say that this is some complete agreement,"
    Oskanian told RFE/RL after the meeting on Monday. The minister added
    that "negotiations should be continued."

    Oskanian found it reassuring that after listening to the sides the OSCE
    Minsk Group cochairmen suggested that the two countries' presidents
    should meet on the sidelines of the CIS summit due later this month.

    "They are likely to have seen some positive moments in our discussions
    and based on that made a decision to invite the presidents to such
    a meeting," Oskanian said.

    "Of course, the presidents will decide whether to accept the invitation
    or not after listening to their ministers. And for this very reason the
    cochairmen will pay a visit to the region next week," Oskanian said,
    adding that the international negotiators are expected in Yerevan on
    November 21.

    The minister reiterated that the expression of the Karabakh people's
    will remains a key principle for Armenia at the talks.

    "This is one of the key issues, and, of course, it is essential to the
    Armenian side," Oskanian said. "Whether it is done through a referendum
    or in some other way, the right of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to
    self-determination must be stated in the document that should serve
    as a means for resolution."

    To the question whether he felt any change in Azerbaijan's tough
    position during the meeting, the minister said: "I can say only that
    the atmosphere was quite positive. It was a constructive meeting,
    some serious discussion went on, some thoughts were expressed."

    "I cannot say that we made concrete arrangements, but the bottomline
    of those discussions is that positions have in some way moved closer
    together," Oskanian said. "We want to consider it to be a flexible
    approach, a compromise, I don't want to give qualifications. I can
    only state that some general outline of agreement appeared to have
    emerged during that meeting."

    Assessing Russia's role in the Karabakh peace process, the Armenian
    minister praised this country's constructive position. "Russia's
    approaches have always been consonant with those of the other
    cochairmen," he said.

    Evaluating the Armenia Action Plan as part of the EU new neighborhood
    policy, the minister emphasized that "with the adoption of this
    document Armenia has raised its relations with the European Union to
    a qualitatively new level."

    "It holds out serious prospects before us to move towards closer
    integration in that structure and deepen our relationship," Oskanian
    said. "This program has a five-year duration, it has a solid financial
    basis, it well serves its purpose, and, indeed, Armenia can benefit
    from it immensely if it implements it properly."

    "I've said on many occasions that if we manage to take full advantage
    of the opportunities offered by this program, in five years Armenia
    can be a politically and economically different state," the minister
    underscored. "And we, indeed, must be consistent in its realization."

    Speaking about the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections
    in Armenia, Oskanian said: "One of the key questions raised during
    the meeting of the EU-Armenia Cooperation Council was our future
    elections. Our future elections have been high on the agenda of any
    bilateral meeting I've had in the past few months. It has been so
    much talked about that we, indeed, have no room for mistake this
    time around."

    The minister urged all political forces and the public to work
    together to hold qualitatively better elections, as otherwise, he says,
    'Armenia has much to lose'.

    "Armenia's further democratic development largely depends on
    the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections," Oskanian
    emphasized.

    While in Brussels, Oskanian also participated in the closed meeting
    of the foreign ministers of the three South Caucasus states with EU
    representatives. He said the whole spectrum of issues in the region,
    including the continuing standoff between Russia and Georgia, was
    discussed by the parties.

    According to Oskanian, Armenia has friendly relations with both Russia
    and Georgia and wants to preserve its impartial attitude. At the same
    time, the Armenian minister is concerned over more tensions emerging
    in the relations between these two countries, which, according to him,
    is against Armenia's political and economic interests.

    "We want to see good relations between Russia and Georgia in the
    interest of the whole region," Oskanian stressed. He denied that
    Russia has exerted any pressure on Armenia to cooperate with it
    against Georgia.

    "Such thoughts may have been voiced within public circles in Russia
    that expected Armenia to cooperate on that matter. But I assure you
    that no such position was officially expressed to Armenia. Armenia
    has not taken sides in this standoff and will continue to appear from
    neutral positions," the Armenian minister concluded.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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