GARABAGH MEDIATORS MEET AFTER FRUITLESS TALKS

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 9 2006

Baku, March 7, AssA-Irada
The OSCE mediators brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan
conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh on Tuesday continued talks in
Washington started a day earlier.

The meetings of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group Yuri Merzlyakov
of Russia, Bernard Fassier of France and Steven Mann of the United
States as well as the OSCE chairman’s special envoy Andzhei Kaspshik
come after the fruitless discussions between Presidents Ilham Aliyev
and Robert Kocharian in the French town of Rambouillet in February.

The intermediaries, speaking after a closed-door meeting held on
Monday, said the “Prague process” of peace talks, which envisions a
stage-by-stage conflict resolution, has not been completed yet and
that chances remain for settling the long-standing dispute.

The American co-chair Steven Mann commenting on the results of the
Rambouillet negotiations, said both sides have achieved progress but
a number of serious issues remain to be resolved. He also said it
was important for the parties to accept compromises.

Although no details of the co-chairs’ discussions have been disclosed,
Mann said in an interview with Voice of America prior to the meeting
that the outcomes of the presidential talks held in France would
be discussed. “It is essential that a way to solve the problem is
found. Otherwise, the region may be faced with a humanitarian crisis,”
Mann said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress