KARABAKH PROBLEM TO BE DISCUSSED IN WASHINGTON, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SPEAKER AND FOREIGN MINISTER OF NKR MAIN SPEAKERS

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Jun 28 2006

WASHINGTON, JUNE 28, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. A discussion
"Karabakh Conflict: Peace Prospects" will take place at the United
States Institute of Peace in Washington on June 28. The main speakers
are Speaker of the NKR parliament Ashot Ghulian and Foreign Minister
Georgy Petrosian.

According to Radio Liberty, the following issues will be discussed: Has
the deadline for signing a peace agreement expired? What prerequisites
are necessary in order to complete the negotiation process and sign
a peace agreement?

How can the US contribute to this process? How will the problems of
thousands of Armenian and Azerbaijani refugees be solved? What are the
lessons to be drawn from other conflicts in the post-Soviet territory?

"This visit was envisaged long ago and has no relation to the latest
developments. Yesterday we arrived in Washington and a few hours
later had a meeting with the new US Co-Chairman of the OSCE Minsk
Group Matthew Bryza at the NKR representative mission," Ashot Ghulian
told Radio Liberty. "To us, the meeting is of cognative character,
we have a lot of things to tell each other. I think we have succeeded
in exchanging preliminary information," he noted.

In response to the question that Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanian stated that the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents have come
to an agreement on the issue of referendum on Nagorno Karabakh status,
to which the Karabakh side has always objected, Ashot Ghulian replied:
"I think the Armenian foreign minister told that quite clearly,
and there is no need to make comments."