Armenian minister hopeful Karabakh may be resolved in 2006

Mediamax news agency
8 Jun 06

Yerevan, 8 June: Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan does not
rule out that Armenia and Azerbaijan will manage to agree on the
principles of Nagornyy Karabakh conflict settlement in 2006.

The Armenian foreign minister said that “nothing can be ruled
out”. “As the saying goes, hope springs eternal,” Oskanyan said.

The Armenian foreign minister pointed out that the Armenian and
Azerbaijani presidents, Robert Kocharyan and Ilham Aliyev, did not
agree on a new meeting at talks in Bucharest on 4-5 June.

“The sides agreed that a meeting would be held between the Armenian
and Azerbaijani foreign ministers if the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen
considered it necessary,” Oskanyan said.

He noted that there was no agreement yet on a possible meeting with
his Azerbaijani counterpart. “It is up to the mediators to decide,”
Oskanyan said.

“In Bucharest, like in Rambouillet, the presidents could not agree on
one very difficult issue,” Oskanyan said. Asked what the expectations
for a possible favourable outcome of the Bucharest talks were based
on, the Armenian minister said: “Every time there are new formulas and
approaches to major issues on the negotiating table, the sides hope
that they will manage to persuade the other side to soften its
position. This did not happen in Bucharest. We should try again.”

The Armenian foreign minister pointed out that the position of the
Armenian side remained unchanged – Yerevan is ready to discuss issues
related to the elimination of the aftermath of the conflict, but only
after Azerbaijan recognizes the Nagornyy Karabakh people’s right to
self-determination.

Oskanyan said that Armenia did not feel pressure from the [OSCE]
mediators and said he doubted they would face this kind of pressure in
the future.