Itar-Tass, Russa
TASS
March 29 2005

No military solution for Karabakh problem – Armenian FM

YEREVAN, March 29 (Itar-Tass) – Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanyan said there can be no military solution for the Nagorno
Karabakh problem.

“It can only be settled through compromise at the negotiations
involving three parties – Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh,”
Oskanyan said at a parliamentary hearing in Yerevan on Tuesday over
the settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

Armenia’s main approach envisions the right for Karabakh Armenians
for self-determination and its international acknowledgement, the
minister noted.

A settlement — including the elimination of consequences of military
actions, i.e. the liberation of the occupied territories — is only
possible if Azerbaijan recognizes this right which then should be
committed to record.

Oskanyan reminded about Yerevan’s position on the principles of
settlement of the Karabakh problem. They foremost rule out Nagorno
Karabakh’s subordination to Azerbaijan and envision a direct
geographic link between Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia, and the
guarantied safety of the enclave.

At present, the parties have not yet reached uniform approaches to
the settlement issues under discussion, the minister said, noting
that the new meeting between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
– Robert Kocharyan and Ilkham Aliyev — will take place in May.