Armenian Speaker, OSCE envoy discuss Karabakh

Arminfo
23 Sep 04

YEREVAN

Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Artur Bagdasaryan and the
special envoy of the OSCE chairman-in-office on the Nagornyy Karabakh
issue, Filip Dimitrov, today discussed the settlement of the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict.

As the press service of the Armenian National Assembly told Arminfo
news agency, during the meeting Filip Dimitrov noted that the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict is perceived by the OSCE as a complicated problem
that is hard to solve. But it hopes that the sides will achieve
success in the negotiations. Artur Bagdasaryan informed Filip Dimitrov
of his point of view, adding that Armenia has always backed a peaceful
settlement to the conflict via political dialogue and that it
understands the need for mutual concessions.

The speaker of the Armenian parliament noted the importance of the
public opinion in the conflicting countries and the necessity of
establishing contacts between various social layers of Armenia and
Azerbaijan on the settlement of the conflict.

Bagdasaryan and Dimitrov noted the importance of regular meetings
between the two countries’ presidents and stressed the need to develop
parliamentary relations, taking into consideration the role and
meaning of parliaments in the settlement of conflicts.

Artur Bagdasaryan also touched upon regional problems, noting the
importance of Turkey’s neutral position in the settlement of the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and also the Azerbaijan side’s
non-constructive position on regional cooperation. He cited the
refusal to allow Armenian servicemen entry to Baku to take part in
NATO’s Cooperative Best Effort 2004 exercises as a specific example.

Bagdasaryan and Dimitrov also noted that the OSCE Minsk Group carried
out an important and consistent work to settle the conflict and
possessed adequate information about details of the process. Great
hopes are pinned particularly on the OSCE Minsk Group in the
settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict. In addition, the sides
noted the need to develop parliamentary relations in the region. Other
issues of mutual interest were also discussed during the meeting.