VARDAN OSKANYAN DID NOT LISTEN TO SERGE SARGSYAN

Lragir.am
08 June 06

Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan stated June 8 that he had not heard
the June 7 statement of Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan. The defense
minister announced June 7 that judging by the information he has about
the meeting in Bucharest Azerbaijan is missing the opportunity of a
peace settlement of the Karabakh conflict. Vardan Oskanyan declined
to comment on Serge Sargsyan’s opinion but he, nevertheless, set
forward suggestions on what it could emanate from.

“After every round of negotiations one tends to think that another
opportunity was missed. Maybe this is what the defense minister had
meant. I have just told you that we must carry on the talks. There
is no other alternative. It is Armenia that keeps stating, asserting
that the Karabakh issue cannot be settled through a war. If it could,
it should have been settled long before,” said Vardan Oskanyan. He
announced that despite the failure of the talks in Bucharest the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan will use the open “window”
in 2006 and reach an agreement on the key principles of the
resolution. However, the presidents rejected the agreement of the
mediators on this dispute, and it is interesting whether the new
meeting will not be an opportunity for a new refusal.

“I think that every party thinks that it is not acceptable for them,
but maybe it is close to its goal and can persuade the opposite
party to accept it. I think the presidents keep this in their
minds in approaching the issue and preparing to meet,” says Vardan
Oskanyan, adding that it is difficult for both parties to reach an
agreement because they have major controversies. Vardan Oskanyan did
not mention the exact time of the next meeting of the presidents,
saying that there were no arrangements in Bucharest. He mentioned
that they promised to meet as soon as there was an invitation. Hence,
everything depends on the co-chairs.

“All the problems of settlement of the issue are on the table, all the
problems. Different sides are offered different proposals; therefore,
every party stresses the issue that is favorable for it.

For us, we have asserted for several times that self-determination and
recognition of Nagorno Karabakh by Azerbaijan is primary. Then we can
discuss different consequences of the conflict,” Vardan Oskanyan once
again expressed the stance of the Armenian side on June 8. According
to him, there is no outside pressure on the process of settlement,
and there will be no pressure. Vardan Oskanyan said it is pointless to
apply the model of Dayton, adding that in Dayton the great powers had
to stop a blood-shed, whereas there is no such a problem in Karabakh.