[07:59 pm] 01 December, 2006
«THE CONFLICT CAN’T BE SETTLED WITHOUT THE PARTICIPATION OF KARABAKH»
«The meeting has been constructive. The Presidents have discussed issues which are by now not agreed upon», said RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan about the Minsk meeting of Kocharyan and Aliev.
Although the Minister did not speak about progress, he mentioned, «The negotiations have not reached a dead end. The Presidents will soon tell the Foreign Ministers which issues to focus upon».
While the RA authorities kept silent, the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan gave an interview immediately after the Minsk meeting and said that the position of Azerbaijan has not been changed and they are ready to give Karabakh the highest degree of sovereignty in Azerbaijan. After the statement of the Azeri official the optimism of Vardan Oskanyan was a bit troubling.
Referring to the statement of Elmar Mammadyarov that there is only one issue left to agree upon, Mr. Oskanyan said, «The position of the Armenian side has not changed either. There is only one way to put together the two contradicting principles – the territorial integrity and right of self-determination of nations. As the idea of a referendum has been mentioned in this document, we think that the people of Nagorno Karabakh can be given a chance to make their choice – territorial integrity of Azerbaijan or their self-determination. This is the only solution and fortunately the elements of this solution have been included in the document».
Mr. Oskanyan did not confirm the statement of Ilham Aliev that the negotiations have entered the final phase. «If we are in the final phase, then Karabakh must join the negotiations. It is impossible to settle the conflict without the participation of Karabakh». The Foreign Minister claimed that the announcements by Azerbaijan that a decision has been made to give the seven liberated territories, do not correspond to reality.
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