MAMEDIAROV: SIDES NEGOTIATE OVER OPENING NAKHIJEVAN- MEGHRI RAILROAD AND
ROAD

Yerevan Calls the Statement ‘False’

Azeri foreign minister said in the interview to ANS TV that definite details
of peaceful settlement have been discussed, in particular, “the issue of
transportation and communication was one of the main points of the
discussion.” Mamediarov said that they discussed the issue of using the
Lachin corridor as a security belt, as well as the opening of
Nakhijevan-Meghri railroad and the roads.

The official Yerevan stated that Baku again makes false statements. A
high-ranking official of RA Foreign Ministry told Azg that such statements
of Baku hinder achieving the real agreement in the Nagorno Karabakh issue.
The diplomat opined that such statements are directed to the inner
auditorium, “the Azeri authorities seem to have inner problems.”

The diplomat also said that by making such statements Baku creates
additional problems for the very inner auditorium, as when the details of
the negotiations are published or the sides are about to sign the settlement
agreement, the same authorities will have to find excuses in front of their
own people.

“Making false statements is Baku’s tactics,” he said. After the meeting of
the presidents, Mamediarov said that Armenia is ready to return “the 7
occupied regions of Azerbaijan. He also added that “the terms for returning
the occupied territories” are being specified.

Official Yerevan denied statements by Mamediarov, while the Baku-based
newspapers sneered at the statements of the Azeri foreign minister. In fact,
Yuri Merzliakov, OSCE Russian co-chair, also denied the statements by
Merzliakov. “What does it mean, Armenia is ready? The issue of withdrawal of
the armed forces is being discussed. Armenia doesn’t doubt about the
principle of withdrawing the Armenian forces from the neighboring regions of
NKR. But we haven’t achieved any agreement concerning the terms, the order
and the deadline for the withdrawal of the forces.” Merzliakov added that
the withdrawal of the forces “is no issue of tomorrow or the day after
tomorrow.”

NKR foreign minister stated yesterday that “the NKR authorities should
control the regions.” Mediamax agency informed that Arman Melikian said that
“today it’s senseless to speak of the territories or the relocation of the
forces,” as “no agreement has been achieved over this issue.” Melikian said
that the false statements on the territories and the withdrawal of NKR
forces “are in the interests of Azerbaijan.”

The Armenian diplomat stated that they haven’t specified the terms and the
deadline for the coming meeting between RA foreign minister and the
mediators. A separate meeting between the mediators with the Azeri and the
Armenian foreign ministers are envisaged to take place. Afterwards, it is
possible that Oskanian and Mamediarov will meet. It is supposed that after
these meetings only the mediators will arrive in the region.

“There is already a necessity for the meeting between the ministers, as a
new filed has opened for us after the meeting of the presidents in Warsaw.
We have many things to discuss and work out,” Vartan Oskanian said in the
interview to RA Public TV on May 19. The minister emphasized that sooner or
later they should touch upon all the details of the resolution package,
specifying four groups of issues — the status, territories, refugees and
the security issues.

Oskanian stated in the same interview that, indeed, “a certain positive
progress” has been fixed in the issue of the status after the negotiations
between the presidents in Warsaw.

By Tatoul Hakobian