NKR PRESIDENT MEETS WITH OSCE MG US CO-CHAIR

Stepanakert, July 31. ArmInfo. During a press-conference Saturday
Nagorno-Karabakh President Arkady Ghoukassyan said that the key
topic of his meeting with OSCE MG US co-chair Matthew Bryza was the
involvement of NK in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks.

Ghoukassyan said that all the mediators realize the necessity of
involving NK in the negotiating process. He said that he had informed
Bryza of NK’s position on the Nagorno-Karabakh problem and Bryza did
not object. "Our position is logical. Of course, it somewhat differs
from what the co-chairs have proposed but Bryza has made no serious
objections to it," Ghoukassyan said.

He said that without visiting NK the newly appointed US co-chair
would hardly get the full picture of the problem. He said that he did
not expect much from Bryza’s visit as he came more to listen than to
propose. Ghoukassyan said that the long pause in the co-chairs’ visits
to the region was mostly of technical nature. He said that he was
always invited to Yerevan whenever the co-chairs came but he believes
that it is more correct to hold such meetings in Stepanakert. "I
think there is already a clear understanding that the problem cannot
be solved without Karabakh," Ghoukassyan said.

Concerning the proposals Ghoulassyan said that one should not consider
problems outside the general context: one should not consider the
problem of Azeri refugees without considering the problem of Armenian
ones, the problem of territories without the problem of NK’s status
and security.

Asked if the mediators are pressuring the sides, Ghoukassyan said
that he has been in the peace process since 1992 and has never seen
any pressure on the mediators’ part.