Armenia, Russia to confront Karabakh conflict in Moscow talks – spokesman

ITAR-TASS news agency
3 Jul 04

MOSCOW

The Nagorgyy Karabakh problem will be one of the main subjects of the
talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Armenian
Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan, Aleksandr Yakovenko, official
spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said today in connection
with Oskanyan’s visit to Moscow on 5-7 July.

Yakovenko said that “Russia is ready to further the process of
settlement of the conflict and to guarantee an agreement acceptable to
both sides [Armenia and Azerbaijan]”. “The sides involved in the
conflict must find a compromise to resolve the problem themselves,” he
said.

During the talks the sides will focus “on issues of cooperation
between the countries within the framework of the CIS [Commonwealth of
Independent States], including the sphere of the Collective Security
Treaty Organization and the Eurasian Economic Community, and
coordination of efforts by the two countries’ foreign ministries to
improve the situation in the Caucasus”. The issues of trade, economic,
cultural and humanitarian cooperation will be given priority.

“Moscow and Yerevan are resolute to take deliberate and necessary
steps to fight terrorism in all its manifestations on the bilateral
and multilateral basis,” Yakovenko said. “Effective practical
cooperation of law-enforcement agencies and security forces is making
political collaboration in the antiterrorism area stronger”.

Oskanyan’s visit “will give a fresh impetus to the Russian-Armenian
relationship, which has a firm legal basis,” Yakovenko said.

The programme for Oskanyan’s visit includes a meeting with Andrey
Kokoshin , chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Commonwealth of
Independent States and Relations with Compatriots.