Armenian leader feels no “great optimism” about Karabakh talks
Mediamax news agency
15 Nov 04
YEREVAN
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan announced in Yerevan today that
“he does not feel great optimism” in connection with the current
situation in the process of settling the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict.
Mediamax news agency quoted Robert Kocharyan as saying this today at a
joint briefing with Estonian President Arnold Ruutel, who is paying a
three-day -visit to Armenia.
The Armenian president talked about two serious problems which, as he
mentioned, are hindering progress at the talks on the conflict
settlement.
“The first problem is the absence of representatives from the Nagornyy
Karabakh Republic [NKR],” Robert Kocharyan said, noting that official
Baku wishes to hold the talks exclusively with Armenia. The president
said that consequently, he is representing the position not only of
Armenia but also of the NKR at the negotiations. Apart from this,
Robert Kocharyan stressed that this is not a correct negotiation
format to reflect the essence of the conflict.
Mediamax news agency quoted Robert Kocharyan as saying that
Azerbaijan’s unwillingness to start regional cooperation is the second
obstacle. The president recalled that Armenia follows the formula
“through cooperation to the settlement”, but Azerbaijan considers
impossible any form of cooperation with Armenia until the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict is fully solved. Meanwhile, Robert Kocharyan noted
that “we continue to believe that regional cooperation can create a
more favourable atmosphere for the conflict settlement”.
Commenting on the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen,
Robert Kocharyan described the mediation of Russia, the USA and France
as “the best format”. The Armenian president said that ” the OSCE
Minsk Group is doing everything possible for the conflicting sides to
settle the problem”. Therefore “it is now possible to say that that it
is the conflicting sides and not the mediators who are at fault”,
Robert Kocharyan said, recalling that “there were situations when we
were close to settling the conflict”.
The Armenian president recalled that the OSCE Minsk Group “has first
of all the role of a mediator and has no mandate to force the
conflicting sides towards peace”.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress