Oskanian Content with Results of Armenian-Azeri Summit

Caucaz.com, Georgia
Sept 2 2005

Baku, September 1 – The weekend meeting in Russia between the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan marked another important step
towards the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian said on Tuesday.

Oskanian said he and his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov will
now try to build on progress made by Robert Kocharian and Ilham Aliev.

“True, no breakthrough was achieved during that meeting, but we do
consider it positive and believe that the negotiations are following
a positive course,” he told a news conference. “The most important
thing is that the presidents’ meeting in Kazan enables the [foreign]
ministers to continue their work. I think that there will be a meeting
of the ministers in the near future. A visit to the region by the
co-chairs [of the OSCE Minsk Group is also possible.”

“I think that we have some work to do regarding the results of the
presidents’ meeting and that there is now new room for continuing
the process,” Oskanian said, adding that he and Mammadyarov received
relevant “instructions” from the two presidents. He did not say what
those instructions are.

“Each meeting at the level of the presidents is a step forward,
but it’s still early to speak of serious progress,” Mammadyarov told
reporters on Monday.

International mediators and the United States in particular hoped the
Kazan meeting will clear the final hurdle to a Karabakh settlement.
It is not clear if Aliev and Kocharian lived up to their expectations.

It is widely assumed that the two leaders will not sign or
announce any compromise agreements on Karabakh before the November
parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan and constitutional referendum
in Armenia. Unpopular concessions could significantly strengthen
opposition groups in both countries that are plotting fresh attempts
to topple the ruling regimes in Baku and Yerevan.

Oskanian said the upcoming polls will have no bearing on the peace
process. “We have not yet reached a point where we need to inform our
publics about details,” he explained. “We are still not there. That
is why it is not worth thinking about that.”

“We are simply not close to putting anything on paper. So nobody is
thinking yet about the restrictive impact of the elections or the
referendum on the negotiations,” he added.