Foreign Minister: Breakthrough in Store if Armenia Accepts All Proposals

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Aug 25 2005

Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has said that progress will be
achieved in talks on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement if
Armenia accepts the proposals made by Azerbaijan.

“We are ready for talks. The sides have mutual understanding on
certain issues. If Armenia is ready to accept all of our proposals,
there will be a breakthrough in the talks.”

Mammadyarov told local TV channels after an informal meeting with
his Armenian counterpart Vardan Oskanian in Moscow on Tuesday that
the parties exchanged views on the talks between the two presidents
due Saturday.

The Minister continued that the US, Russian and French co-chairs of
the OSCE Minsk Group mediating the conflict resolution have stepped
up their activity and continue to put forth ‘compromise’ proposals.

Touching upon the Karabakh status, the Minister stressed the importance
of discussing the issue strictly within Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity. “There are different ways to resolve the issue. Dialogue
on the matter should therefore continue….We approach the conflict
resolution from the conceptual standpoint. The main idea is for us
to find a way for Azeris and Armenians to live peacefully in a small
territory. The sooner we find a way for this, the more rapidly our
states will develop, as the conflict is an obstacle for our countries’
development. We should focus on the processes ongoing around the
world and look to the future.”