Slovene OSCE chairman discusses Nagornyy Karabakh issue in Armenia

STA news agency, Ljubljana
30 Mar 05

Yerevan, 30 March: Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, the OSCE
chairman-in-office, called on all concerned parties to step up efforts
in a bid to find a solution to the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict as he
wrapped up his visit to Armenia on Wednesday [30 March].

After meetings with top Armenian officials, Rupel encouraged all
parties to take advantage of what he said was “the existing window of
opportunity” and bolster efforts aimed at finding a solution.

Speaking to the press after a meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister
Vardan Oskanyan, Rupel said the OSCE – and Slovenia, too – was ready
to assist in the search for a lasting solution to the
conflict. According to him, Slovenia could host talks on the issue.

Oskanyan stressed that the OSCE was playing an important role in
trying to end the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict.

Moreover, Oskanyan said he hoped Rupel would reiterate the stance that
violations of the cease-fire in Nagornyy Karabakh must stop when he
visits Azerbaijan on Saturday. Rupel said he intended to do that.

Apart from Oskanyan, Rupel also met Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan and Speaker of the National Assembly Artur Bagdasaryan. “I
am convinced that the guidance of the presidents of Armenia and
Azerbaijan will be crucial for the successful development of the peace
process,” he said after the meeting with the president.

Earlier in the day, Rupel held talks with the leader of Nagornyy
Karabakh, Arkadiy Gukasyan, who was less optimistic that a solution to
the conflict could be found soon, as he is convinced that Azerbaijan’s
position will not change by summer.

Gukasyan, who is not internationally recognized as the leader of
Nagorno-Karabakh, stressed that the OSCE’s role in solving the
conflict was very important.

Asked by an Armenian journalist whether he considers Gukasyan to be a
tribal leader, since he refers to him as the leader and not the
president of Nagornyy Karabakh, Rupel said that he was also the leader
of the OSCE, which does not mean the OSCE is a tribe.

The simmering conflict in Nagornyy Karabakh, the ethnic-Armenian
enclave in Azerbaijan, is one of the issues in which the OSCE is
trying to assist the parties involved to find a peaceful
solution. Since February 2000, the organization has had its office in
Yerevan.

Moreover, Rupel stressed that Armenia had undertaken reforms and urged
Armenian officials to keep up these efforts. The OSCE, he said, was
ready to help in several fields, including election reform, the
freedom of the press and the fight on corruption.

He also called on the Armenian authorities to continue amending the
law on elections in order to ensure electoral fairness and
transparency.

Pointing to a number of attacks on journalists in Armenia, Rupel said
the free press was a key factor in the development of a democratic
society. He said he hopes the authorities would investigate all
attacks on journalists.

Rupel is scheduled to travel of Kyrgyzstan later tonight as he
continues his tour of the Caucasus.