OSCE chief urges Karabakh’s involvement in peace talks – TV

Artsakh Public TV, Stepanakert
31 Mar 05

Text of report by Nagornyy Karabakh’s Artsakh Public TV on 31 March

[Presenter over video of meeting] The NKR [Nagornyy Karabakh Republic]
president, Arkadiy Gukasyan, received the OSCE chairman-in-office and
Slovenian foreign minister, Dimitrij Rupel, at the NKR permanent
representative office in the Republic of Armenia on 30 March.

Mr Rupel said that the people of Nagornyy Karabakh had the right to
participate in discussions of their future. There is a window of
opportunity for Nagornyy Karabakh to sit at the negotiating table,
Rupel said. The OSCE chairman-in-office noted that the OSCE would make
every effort to resolve this issue by summer and it expected the
Karabakh side to come up with initiatives in this respect. Mr Rupel
said provided that Nagornyy Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan reached
agreement, he could organize a trilateral meeting in Slovenia in
spring or summer. Mr Rupel expressed his concern about cease-fire
violations on the contact line between Nagornyy Karabakh and
Azerbaijan and asked the NKR president to comment on this issue.

The NKR president said that the cease-fire violations were the result
of Azerbaijan’s attempts to advance its positions. President Gukasyan
expressed his concern about these attempts. Azerbaijan pursues two
major goals, the NKR president said. The first is to convince its own
population that the authorities are actively trying to regain the lost
territories. The second and more important goal is to blackmail the
international community demanding that its territorial integrity be
restored. President Gukasyan said it was important to create an
appropriate atmosphere for a successful negotiation process. But
Azerbaijan’s bellicose rhetoric does not contribute to that, Gukasyan
said.

Answering Mr Rupel’s question about the future of Nagornyy Karabakh,
President Gukasyan stressed that there is no alternative to the NKR’s
independence.

After the meeting, the NKR president met journalists and answered
their questions. In particular, touching on the issue of a referendum
in Nagornyy Karabakh, the NKR president said that a referendum was
already held in the NKR in 1991. But if the European community insists
on holding a referendum, Karabakh’s answer will be positive, Gukasyan
said.