OSCE co-chairs urge Armenians, Azeris to prepare for peace

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
25 May 06

[Presenter] The representatives of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair
countries made an official joint statement following the Yerevan talks
few hours ago.

The Russian deputy foreign minister, the US Assistant Secretary of
State and the French Foreign Ministry’s adviser in their joint
statements expressed confidence that the sides can achieve a mutually
acceptable agreement at this stage [of the peace negotiations]. They
described their talks in Baku and Yerevan as constructive.

[Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin, in Russian with
Armenian voice-over] We, the representatives at the deputy minister
level of the Russian Federation, the United States and France,
together with the co-chairmen and the personal representative of the
OSCE chairman-in-office, have arrived [in Yerevan] with this joint
diplomatic mission to promote the peaceful settlement of the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict and because now it is time for the sides to achieve
agreement on the basic principles of the conflict settlement.

[US Deputy State Secretary Daniel Freed, in English with Armenian
voice-over] As we did yesterday in Baku, we have discussed important
aspects of a future settlement. We worked to create conditions for a
meeting of the two presidents [Robert Kocharyan and Ilham Aliyev] in
the near future. We stressed the belief of the international community
that the conflict can be resolved only by peaceful means. Both
countries should prepare their people for peace, not war.

[French Foreign Ministry’s Ambassador at Large Pierre Morel, in French
with Armenian voice-over] A joint mission as this one is a special
event. It must be taken as a sign of seriousness with which we
approach the issue and, in particular, of our belief that we are at
the point when mutually beneficial agreement is achievable. It is up
to Armenia and Azerbaijan to let it happen. We are leaving with hopes
and expectations of progress. We are pleased to be in Yerevan and want
to express our gratitude to President Kocharyan and the people of
Armenia for receiving us.