OSCE HEAD SEES SIGNS OF RAPPROCHEMENT BETWEEN ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN
Mediamax news agency
6 Sep 05
Yerevan, 6 September: The OSCE chairman-in-office, Slovenian Foreign
Minister Dimitrij Rupel, said in Yerevan today that there are
“certain signs of rapprochement between Armenia and Azerbaijan”
on the Karabakh settlement.
Speaking at a briefing in Yerevan today, Dimitrij Rupel noted that
“the main problem in the talks lies in details”, Mediamax reports. The
OSCE chairman-in-office said that “I did not get the impression that
the forthcoming constitutional referendum in Armenia might influence
the peace process”.
Commenting on the Azerbaijani leadership’s bellicose statements,
Dimitrij Rupel said that “my interlocutors in Baku had a peaceful
and conciliatory position and I did not hear any calls for war”.
Asked by Mediamax about Dimitrij Rupel’s reaction if he receives
factual proof of the bellicose rhetoric of the Azerbaijani authorities,
Dimitrij Rupel said: “I do not welcome calls for war, we are seeking
peace. If I hear such a statement, I’ll try to urge its author to
change his mind.”
For his part, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan described as
“extremely dangerous” Azerbaijan’s illusions that the inflow of oil
dollars will ensure Baku’s superiority in resolving the Karabakh
problem in a military way. “If the Karabakh problem had a military
solution, we would not be discussing settlement issues today, as the
Armenians have won the war,” Vardan Oskanyan said. Asked about the
possible influence of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline on the settlement
process, the Armenian foreign minister said that “we prefer to
consider this project as an additional factor in the cause of
maintaining peace”.
“We proceed from the fact that numerous countries and companies are
involved in the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline and Azerbaijan will not be able
to make a unanimous decision to resume hostilities,” the Armenian
foreign minister said.