Armenian foreign minister in Iran says situation stable back home
Azg, Yerevan
13 Apr 04
Text of Tatul Akopyan’s report in Armenian newspaper Azg on 13 April
headlined “We are at an uncertain stage on Karabakh”
The domestic political situation is stable in Armenia, Vardan Oskanyan
has said in Iran. Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said
yesterday at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport that “We are at an uncertain
stage on the Karabakh issue.” In an interview to Iranian state TV,
Oskanyan noted that, after the presidential elections in Azerbaijan,
official Baku had not expressed a specific position on the Karabakh
settlement. “On 16 April in Prague I shall meet Azerbaijani Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov. We hope that after that meeting Baku will
specify its position,” Oskanyan said.
Asked about Yerevan’s attitude towards the American programme “Greater
Middle East”, Oskanyan replied: “We are not aware of the details of
the programme; we know about it from the press, there have been no
discussions with us in connection with it.”
Yesterday evening, during a meeting with Armenian church
representatives in Tehran, Oskanyan touched on the domestic political
situation in Armenia. “The domestic political situation is stable in
the country, in a short period of time we can overcome the prevailing
situation. The authorities are ready to negotiate with the opposition
without preconditions. The domestic political situation leaves an
impression of instability, but in reality it is stable,” Oskanyan
said.
The Armenian foreign minister said that “In the business sense we are
very close to construction of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline.” The
Armenian ambassador to Tehran, Gegam Garibdzhanyan, said the problem
in the gas pipeline construction had been solved. He said that Iran’s
oil minister would soon visit Armenia and the final document would be
signed and construction of the 141km gas pipeline would
start. Garibdzhanyan said that construction of the Kadzharan tunnel
would start this year as well.
Today Oskanyan will meet the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National
Security Council, Hasan Rowhani, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and
the first vice-president of Iran, Mohammad Reza Aref.