ARAZ AZIMOV: RETURN OF 7 REGIONS IS NOT FULL SOLUTION OF KARABAKH PROBLEM

Pan Armenian News
21.05.2005 03:30

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “The Warsaw meeting of Presidents of Azerbaijan and
Armenia should be considered as an important one. Its importance lies
in the questions discussed at it directly referring to the Karabakh
conflict settlement,” stated Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Araz
Azimov, Trend news agency reported. In his words, it can be considered
that the Armenian party is ready to continuing the discussions. The
diplomat noted that after the Warsaw meeting the talks at the level of
Azeri and Armenian FMs will be continued in the near future. The Azeri
Deputy FM noted that there were several elements among the questions
discussed by the Presidents. “The matter concerns 7-9 elements. These
are questions of withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied
territories, return of these lands, security guarantees, forming
conditions for return of the local population, the mine-clearing
of the territories and their restoration. At the same time it was
coordinated that sensitive political issues can be discussed at later
stages. We suppose there is clarity in all those directions which can
be considered an important achievement,” Azimov said. In his words,
“the liberation of the occupied territories is the main essence of the
stand of Azerbaijan.” “However liberation – is not the full solution
of the problem,” the diplomat emphasized. Azimov noted that within the
conflict settlement framework all communications should be restored,
including those linking Nakhichevan with Azerbaijan, the railway
through the Meghri region of Armenia. “This fits the interests of not
only Armenia and Azerbaijan, but also Russia, Georgia, Turkey and Iran,
as it is a railway, which does not merely join two countries. It is
part of the regional network. Thus it should be restored within the
settlement framework,” Azimov said. He also reported that before the
meeting of the FMs the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are expected to
visit the region, Regnum news agency reported.