BAKU BLAMES YEREVAN FOR DISTORTING ESSENCE OF KARABAKH TALKS

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS Military Newswire
June 28, 2006 Wednesday 9:22 AM MSK

The Azeri Foreign Ministry has denounced what it calls "the continued
attempts by the Armenian Foreign Ministry to purposefully distort
the realities in the negotiating process for the settlement of
the Armenian-Azeri conflict over Nagorno- Karabakh" in a statement
on Tuesday.

"The Armenian Foreign Ministry’s statement [] has become yet another
evidence of the persisting unconstructive position of Armenia in the
process to settle the conflict," the Azeri Foreign Ministry said.

According to the Azeri Foreign Ministry, the OSCE Minsk Group co-
chairmen, particularly Matthew Bryza of the U.S., "only outlined
specific principles for a gradual peace settlement, which are being
discussed now and which cannot be taken out of the general context
of this document."

"This sets the grounds for misunderstanding, confusion of the terms,
and speculations similar to those contained in the Armenian Foreign
Ministry’s statement," it said.

"The definition of [Nagorno-Karabakh’s] status is impossible under
continued occupation and ethnical cleansing and therefore presumes
that the occupied Azeri territories be liberated and the entire
conflict zone demilitarized, which, given appropriate international
security guarantees, should provide conditions for the return of the
displaced Azeri population to their permanent residence. The Armenian
leadership acknowledges this as well," the Azeri Foreign Ministry said.