AZERBAIJAN CONDUCTS POLICY OF STATE INHABITATION IN OCCUPIED ARMENIAN TERRITORIES

Azg/arm
9 Dec 04

Oskanian-Mamediarov Argument Breeds New Meeting on December 9

The next meeting of RA and Azeri foreign ministers is envisaged to
take place within the framework of the sitting of the Euro-Atlantic
Partnership countries â~@~Y foreign ministers in Brussels, on December
9. Metin Mirza, press secretary of Azerbaijanâ~@~Ys Foreign Ministry,
informed Interfax news agency. Elmar Mamediarov and Vartan Oskanian
agreed to continue the negotiations over Nagorno Karabakh settlement
in the format of “the Prague meetings” in the course of December 5
meeting, Mirza said.

Elmar Mamediarov said in his speech during the meeting in Sofia
that four stages of the negotiations held between the Azeri and the
Armenian Foreign Ministers through the mediation of the OSCE Minsk
group co-chairs inspire with some hope.

“We discussed the key issues during the Prague meetings, including
the issue of returning the Azeri occupied territories, the
issue of restoring the transport and other kind of communication,
reestablishment of natural interstate relations between Armenia and
Azerbaijan, the stage-by-stage settlement of the political issues
concerning the conflict,” Mediamax cited Mamediarov as saying.

According to Mamediarov, Azerbaijan is willing to improve the relations
with Armenia, but “that canâ~@~Yt be achieved in the so-called reality
caused by the armed aggression,” and our neighbor should give up the
illusion that the time plays into his hands”. “At present, we donâ~@~Yt
trust Armenia at all. If we see that Armenia is ready to withdraw its
forces from Azeri occupied territories, the trust may be restored,”
Mamediarov said.

“Armenia should take urgent and effective measures to stop all
the illegal actions in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan,”
he said. “Azerbaijan canâ~@~Yt agree with the statements on ethnic
inequality between the Armenians and Azeris made by the high-rank
Armenian officials. We are sure that the Azeris and Azeri citizens
of Armenian origin can peacefully live next to each other in Nagorno
Karabakh region of my country. The biggest challenge we face in
this region is not the ethnic hatred between the two nations but the
ideas of the past about the territorial demands to the neighbors and
the difference in our wish to become a component part of Europe,”
Mamediarov said.

Azeri foreign minister said putting forward the issue of illegal
inhabitation in the occupied territories at the UN, the official Baku
didnâ~@~Yt try to change the mediation format of Nagorno Karabakh
conflict.

RA foreign minister dedicated the greater part of his speech to NKR,
in Sofia, on December 7. Vartan Oskanian reminded that Azerbaijan
responded with armed aggression to demands of the Armenians to live
a free life and to get self-determination. In particular, Oskanian
cited an extract from the report of CE parliamentarians made in 1992.

“Villages were totally destroyed, peaceful residents were killed,
children were raped after the latest attack of the Azerbaijanis. Taking
into account the decisive superiority of Azerbaijanâ~@~Ys armed
forces over the human resources, the arms and equipment, the level
of providing fuel and food, the frequency of the air flights, rocket
fires and air bombing, one can suppose that few weeks are left before
the fall of Karabakh, if not less. It is obvious that genocide and
expulsion are likely to follow these actions,” RA foreign minister
cited.

Oskanian repeated that no state policy of inhabiting NKR is
conducted. He emphasized that Azerbaijan is conducting state policy
of inhabiting the Armenian occupied territories, i.e. in Shahumian,
Getashen, as well as in Martakert. The UN paid attention to these
actions and instructed Azerbaijan to take measures to give alternative
settlements to the Armenians whose property was illegally taken.

“The existence of 100 of thousands refugees is a result of the military
actions unfolded by Azerbaijan. Unlike my colleague, I will say that
there are refugees from both sides. Besides half of a million Azeri
refugees, there are almost as many Armenian refugees fled both from the
capital of Azerbaijan and from the very territories of the conflict,”
Oskanian said.

Besides, Colin Powell, US State Secretary, stated in his speech at OSCE
meeting in Sofia that there was little progress in the improvement of
the situation in Nagorno Karabakh as well as the separatist areas of
Moldova and Georgia. “The frozen conflicts remain frozen even after
15 years from the end of a frozen war”, Powell said.

By Tatoul Hakobian

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