Karabakh’s self-determination to be key issue in Kazan talks – Armenian minister

Arminfo
20 Aug 05

Yerevan, 20 August: Nagornyy Karabakh’s self-determination is the key
issue in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. All the remaining
problems – the return of refugees, the elimination of consequences of
the conflict and territorial problems – are secondary issues which
will be resolved only after defining Nagornyy Karabakh’s status,
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said commenting on the
forthcoming meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents,
Robert Kocharyan and Ilham Aliyev, in Kazan [on 26 August].

Oskanyan said the package settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict
could be implemented stage by stage, however, even in this case, the
issue of Nagornyy Karabakh’s status should be resolved first. At the
same time, the Armenian foreign minister said none of the sides are
interested in dragging out the conflict. Having failed to achieve the
desired result in the talks, Azerbaijan, as a rule, either criticizes
the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group or presents its desires as
reality ahead of every stage of meetings, he said.

Commenting on the Azerbaijani leadership’s plans to increase military
budget with oil dollars, Oskanyan said: “Increasing the military budget
with oil dollars cannot bring the Azerbaijani side real dividends in
the Karabakh issue. Azerbaijan with its oil dollars cannot deceive or
frighten the Armenian side,” the minister said, noting that Armenia
can always stand up to Azerbaijan.

“In fact, Armenia’s advantage over Azerbaijan is not in its
military might but in the fairness of its position in the Karabakh
issue. The Armenians know that their position on Karabakh is just
and if hostilities resume, the Armenian people will fight for their
lands, unlike Azerbaijanis,” Oskanyan said. Moreover, he said Armenia
challenged Azerbaijan not in the military sphere but in the political
and economic spheres. Azerbaijan can compete with neither Armenia
nor Nagornyy Karabakh in the issue of implementation of political
and economic reforms, the minister said.

[Passage omitted: Oskanyan speaks about the self -determination status
of people in the world]