Outgoing Russian envoy hopes for speedy Karabakh settlement

ANS TV, Baku
9 Sep 04

[Presenter Natavan Babayeva] The Russian ambassador to Azerbaijan,
Nikolay Ryabov, has ended his diplomatic mission in Baku. He said
goodbye to journalists first.

[Correspondent over video of Ryabov’s news conference] I admit that
I knew nothing about Azerbaijan before my appointment to Baku. But
now four year later, I am leaving this country as a diplomat who
knows the country very well, Ryabov told his last news conference for
the Azerbaijani media. He said that work in Baku made an important
contribution to his career.

[Ryabov in Russian with Azeri voice-over] Our diplomatic mission here
has been operating and enjoying political comfort. We have always felt
support from the government, the opposition, public organizations
and the media. We never felt any kind of moral and psychological
pressure. Someone could describe this fact as normal. But this is
very important for diplomatic activities.

[Correspondent] Sometimes we made progress in solving most of the
problems fully and sometimes partly. But I regret that no progress
was made on the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh problem during my
activities, Ryabov said. Ryabov spoke about his great expectations
from the meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents
in Astana on 16 September to be held at Russian President Vladimir
Putin’s initiative. Ryabov hoped that Azerbaijan’s occupied lands
would be returned soon.

[Ryabov] One should not be complacent. There is a need for new and
additional proposals. There is a need to settle old conflicts.

[Correspondent] Speaking about the act of terror in school No 1 of
the North Ossetian town of Beslan, Ryabov thanked the Azerbaijani
people and government for their support. He said that Azerbaijan’s
aid to Russia on this tragic days despite many problems facing the
country and more than 1m refugees has made our countries even closer
given the 400 years of cooperation between us.

[Passage omitted: Ryabov does not know who will succeed him]