ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
June 8, 2006 Thursday 08:54 PM EST

Quarter of issues remain unresolved in Nagorno Karabakh talks

Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan said on Thursday the talks
on the basic principles of Nagorno Karabakh settlement have 25-30
percent of contradicting issues, which the presidents of Armenia and
Azerbaijan are trying to resolve.

“At present there are proposals of co-chairs on the principles of
the settlement of the Karabakh conflict and, given the political
will, they may be accepted”, he told the Shant TV channel.

Oskanyan said Armenia agreed to discuss earlier unacceptable topics
only after the issue of self-determination of the people of Nagorno
Karabakh was included into the agenda.

“We can discuss other issues only after the right of the people of
Nagorno Karabakh for self-determination is fixed,” the minister
said.

He said he may meet his Azerbaijani counterpart already next week and
the mediators from the OSCE Minsk Group for Nagorno Karabakh are
already arranging the meeting.

Oskanyan said he and his Azerbaijani counterpart will work to bring
positions closer, and if they succeed, a new Armenian-Azerbaijani
summit will become possible.

“For the sake of the settlement Armenia has done the maximum and
agreed to very serious compromises. But there is a limit, which the
Armenian side cannot overstep,” the minister said.

He added “the problem of Nagorno Karabakh has no military solution
and there is no other way out than to continue negotiations. We shall
work for the settlement through compromises,” Oskanyan said.