Armenia aims to blame Azerbaijan for delay in Karabakh talks – TV

Lider TV, Baku
1 Apr 04

[Presenter] Yerevan is trying to blame Azerbaijan for any delay in
talks on resolving the Nagornyy Karabakh issue.

Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said that the cancellation
of the meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers
due in Prague shows that Azerbaijan is worried. According to Oskanyan,
Azerbaijan needs time to clarify its position on Nagornyy
Karabakh. Having stressed that Yerevan is always ready for talks,
Oskanyan ruled out the possibility of starting dialogue from
scratch. Let Baku turn to Stepanakert if it has such intention, he
said.

The head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry press service, Matin
Mirza, said that Azerbaijan’s position on the resolution of the
conflict has remained unchanged. As for Oskanyan’s statement, Mirza
said that Baku has never regarded the so-called Nagornyy Karabakh
Republic as a party to the conflict and will continue to adhere to
this position. Armenia wants to win time and strengthen its aggressive
policy by making such statements, Mirza said.

The head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry press service said that
irrespective of the stage of talks, Azerbaijan aims to maintain its
territorial integrity.