Kocharian And Aliev Discuss Karabakh Problem In Bucharest

KOCHARIAN AND ALIYEV DISCUSS KARABAKH PROBLEM IN BUCHAREST

Armenpress
June 05 2006

BUCHAREST, JUNE 5, ARMENPRESS: Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents,
Robert Kocharian and Ilham Aliyev, met on June 4 in Bucharest, Romania,
to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The meeting was hosted by
the Polish embassy in Bucharest. Kocharian and Aliyev traveled to
Bucharest for a Black Sea Partnership and Dialogue summit.

It was the first meeting between the two men since the February 2006
talks in the French castle of Rambouillet near Paris, which failed in
their aim of setting out a framework for a negotiated settlement of
the near-20-year-old conflict. Their Bucharest meeting was featured
by Karel de Gucht, the OSCE chairman-in-office, OSCE Minsk group
cochairmen from Russia, France and the USA, Armenian and Azerbaijani
foreign ministers and the personal envoy of the OSCE chairman-in-office
Andrzey Kasprzyk. This was followed by almost a three-hour long
tete-a-tete- conversation between the presidents. Later on other
parties joined them.. Overall the negotiations lasted for four hours.

Kocharian and Aliyev were then received by Romanian President Traian
Basescu to discuss the Karabakh problem. The Romanian president had
had separate meetings with both presidents before the start of the
talks. It was said that Basescu is planning a visit to Armenia in
autumn. Neither the presidents not other participants of the meeting
talked to journalists on Sunday. However, the sides are expected to
offer their comments on the talks in the course of the summit that
has started today. Today morning Kocharian had a separate meeting
with Karel de Gucht, a senior US official and an EU representative
for the South Caucasus.

Robert Kocharian and Ilham Aliyev are expected to have another meeting
in Romania’s capital Bucharest today. The parties are expected to
issue a statement today on the outcome of the meetings. By the way,
one of subjects to be discussed today by the parties is providing
the public at large with information about the ongoing talks.

The US cochairman in the OSCE Minsk group, Steven Mann, who
participated in the Kocharian-Aliyev meeting on June 4 in Bucharest
said today he and his two counterparts from Russia and France expect
progress in the talks every time Armenian and Azeri leaders meet to
explore ways for ending their dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Speaking today to journalists, Mann said both presidents were showing
interest towards discussions of the problem. Mann refrained from giving
any detail of the talks, saying more concrete information may be given
to journalists after the second meeting of Kocharian and Aliyev today.