PARTIES OF NK CONFLICT CLOSE TO AGREEMENT, MATTHEW BRYZA SAYS

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 7 2006

The parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are close to an agreement,
Matthew Bryza, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and
Eurasian Affairs, told reporters in Yerevan.

The most important steps remain, he added. The issues that have to be
settled are the most difficult ones, and the leaders of the states
must have clear positions, Bryza said. The leaders of the states
must determine the terms of settlement themselves, and “we will do
our best for the decision to be made as soon as possible.”

The US diplomat disagreed with the opinion that the negotiations for
the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement are in the deadlock.

He disagrees with those claiming that the Rambouillet negotiations
failed, and the OSCE Minsk Group has exhausted its potential.

The Presidents did not arrive at a decision in Rambouillet, but it
does not mean that the negotiations failed.