Baku to provide security guarantees to Karabakh Armenians – Azeri official
Turan news agency
18 Apr 05
Baku, 18 April: The Karabakh talks held in London on 15 April were
the continuation of the Prague process, Huseyn Huseynov, a member
of the Azerbaijani delegation at the talks, told a news conference
today commenting on the results of meetings of the Azerbaijani and
Armenian foreign ministers with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group.
Asked why the co-chairs met the ministers separately, Huseynov said
that “[Armenian Foreign Minister] Vardan Oskanyan does not want to
meet [Azerbaijani Foreign Minister] Elmar Mammadyarov for reasons
that are not clear”.
As for the co-chairs’ calls on the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples
to get prepared for compromises, Huseynov said Azerbaijan is ready
to recognize the Karabakh Armenians as its citizens and provide them
with all rights.
“Nagornyy Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan. So, the
Azerbaijani public has to recognize the Armenian population of this
region as its citizens,” Huseynov said. He added that one should work
with the Karabakh Armenians, ensure their security and improve the
economy of the region in order to reintegrate them into Azerbaijani
society.
Huseynov said the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan cannot be
a topic for discussions and compromises. So, under compromises,
one should understand preparing the public for coexistence with the
Armenian population after a peace deal is signed, he said.
Huseynov also said another round of talks within the Prague process
would be held in Frankfurt on 27 April. But he avoided questions about
the format of the meeting. Huseynov did not answer either whether
the leaders of the two counties were going to meet in mid-May. He
only said that the presidents would decide on that themselves.