Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 23 2006

French diplomat calls for further Garabagh talks

Baku, March 22, AssA-Irada

The latest presidential talks on settling the Armenia-Azerbaijan
conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh should not be assessed as a
completion of the peace process but marked major progress in the
negotiated settlement, the French ambassador to Armenia Henry Cuny
has said.
The discussions held by Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharian
in the French town of Rambouillet in February turned out fruitless,
as the parties failed to iron out issues of principle.
Cuny said the key issue at this point is to continue peace talks.
With regard to earlier assumptions that the parties may strike a
peace accord in 2006, the diplomat said that if this does not happen,
a suitable opportunity to reach peace would be missed.
`The Rambouillet meeting was not a decisive stage in the
negotiations. But most of the road leading to a solution was
covered,’ Cuny added.*