A1 Plus | 16:04:01 | 12-05-2004 | Politics |

SHUSHI IS THE 7TH OCCUPIED TERRITORY

“Karabakhi conflict issue has transformed into the one of
Armenian-Azerbaijani bilateral relations, which is already
considered as a territorial demand”, Babken Ararqtcyan, Chair of
“Armat” /”Root”/ social organization and ex Parliament Speaker,
said during the conference on the 10th anniversary of truce. He is
sure the armistice arranged 10 years ago is uneasy so that it can be
violated just because of that “transformation”.

“Since the time that NKR status turned into a territorial conflict
we don’t master the truce. Azerbaijan owns it since it can say Azeri
territories have been occupied”, Ararqtcyan says.

He drew the attention of journalists to the recent statements by
Azerbaijani diplomats saying 7 occupied territories must be returned
while 6 districts are under control of Armenian forces.

“They consider Shushi the 7th. Shushi was a separate district in
Sovereign Territory of Nagorno Karabakh. Azerbaijan turned 6 into 7
within a year”, Mr. Ararqtcyan said. He called this policy line of
Azerbaijan “document occupation”.

He assured no progress in the negotiations over Karabakhi conflict
has been registered since the suggestions in 1997.

Yesterday Mr. Ararqtcyan read a publication in “New York Times”,
under which peace is needed in our region or else it will be doomed:
“In other words, we aren’t the ones to settle the conflict. And the
worst is that we well may not to partake in solution”.

As to prospects of meetings between two presidents, Mr. Ararqtcyan
said: “Just those meetings led to that Karabakh was left out of the
negotiations. In 1994 Levon Ter-Petrosyan took Karabakhi President
wherever he went. In 1994 September Kocharyan and Aliev even had a
private talk”, Ararqtcyan reminded.

He is sure phase version is the only possible settlement to the
conflict.