Azeri minister urges UN to have final say on Karabakh

ANS TV, Baku
24 Nov 04

[Presenter] Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov gave an
interview to ANS after his speech at the UN General Assembly. He said
that the UN General Assembly should now have a final say.

[Correspondent over video of the UN session] The minister thinks
that the first step has already been taken. We now have to wait for
another resolution which the UN is going to adopt on the situation
on the occupied Azerbaijani territories. This will take some time.

[Mammadyarov by phone] The UN has a special procedure of adopting
resolutions. This is a process. It will take some time. Therefore,
we think that first we should continue the talks and then we will
express our opinion after reviewing their results.

[Correspondent] Mammadyarov also commented on the statement made by
his Armenian counterpart Vardan Oskanyan on the UN discussions.

[Passage omitted: reported details of Armenia’s position]

[Mammadyarov] This issue was not comprehensively discussed when I met
the Armenian foreign minister in Berlin. Azerbaijan thinks that we
need to continue the talks within the framework of the Prague meetings
[on the Karabakh settlement]. We intend to continue the Prague talks
as soon as possible.

[Correspondent] Elmar Mammadyarov said that only Armenia and
Azerbaijan participated in the talks in line with the OSCE Minsk
Group’s regulations. The Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of
Nagornyy Karabakh enjoy the status of parties interested in this
process. If we negotiate with the so-called regime, then Armenia will
be regarded not as the opposite side, but as a side interested in the
settlement process. In these circumstances, Armenia must walk out of
the talks, end quote.

Mammadyarov said that he will clarify this position of the Baku
government at his meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs today.

Ayaz Mirzayev, ANS.