4TH MEETING OF OSKANIAN AND MAMEDIAROV TOOK PLACE

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR)
4 Sept 04

Despite the recent statements of the Azerbaijani foreign minister
allowing to think that the meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia
and Azerbaijan would not take place, it nevertheless took place
in Prague on August 30. This was the fourth meeting on the level
of foreign ministers. As we had forecast, there was not much to be
expected from this meeting. According to the RA foreign minister,
“The only expectation was that the Armenian party may continue and
lead to its logical end what they had undertaken, at last making
it clear on what basis the talks between the two countries will
go on.” According to the press service of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of RA, the American, Russian and French co-chairmen of the
Minsk Group Stephen Mann, Youri Merzlyakov and Henry Jacolin also
took part in the meeting of Oskanian and Mamediarov. The personal
representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk was
also present at the meeting. This meeting, as the previous ones,
did not have a special agenda. The ministers of foreign affairs of
Armenia and Azerbaijan went on discussing questions referring to the
prospect of regulation of the Nagorni Karabakh conflict. According
to the participants, the meeting was useful and positive. After the
meeting the RA minister of foreign affairs told the journalists that
the newly appointed ambassador of the USA in Armenia John Evans who has
recently arrived in Yerevan, must actively get involved in the talks
for the settlement of the Karabakh problem. As to the effectiveness
of the meeting, Oskanian noticed that this was an ordinary meeting
of which no results should be anticipated. “There may be news only
after the meeting of presidents,” said Vardan Oskanian. Therefore
we may state that the fourth meeting of Oskanian and Mamediarov did
not produce any results, at best it prepared for the next meeting
between Kocharian and Aliev. Let us hope that at least that meeting
will promote positive changes in favour of the peaceful regulation
of the Karabakh conflict.

CHRISTINE MNATSAKANIAN.
04-09-2004

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress