ALIEV WAS FOR THE NEGOTIATIONS WITH KARABAKH
Naira Bulghadaryan

A1+
[01:53 pm] 04 September, 2006

President of NKR Arkadi Ghoukasyan presented Azeri advocate Arzu
Abdulaeva who visited Karabakh with the whole pack of the negotiations
with Azerbaijan. The pack contains the agreements signed by Azerbaijan
and Karabakh mainly without the participation of Armenia.

According to Arkadi Ghoukasyan, by one of them Heidar Aliev authorizes
his representative "to carry on negotiations with the representative
of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic".

"When Azerbaijan needed to cease the military operations, they
actively communicated with Karabakh", Arkadi Ghoukasyan announced
during the meeting with Armenian and Azeri advocates. He claimed that
now Azerbaijan does not even want to listen to Karabakh.

During the meeting with the representatives of the Armenian and Azeri
Committees of the Helsinki Citizens Assembly, the Vanadzor Office, and
the Karabakh NGO "Helsinki Initiative" Arkadi Ghoukasyan spoke about
the possible ways of the settlement of the conflict, about Karabakh’s
participation of Karabakh in the negotiations, about the problem of the
of fates of missing persons, the results of the hostilities between the
countries and the necessity of creating an atmosphere of mutual trust.

According to the NKR President, the main precondition of the settlement
of the Karabakh conflict is the creation of an atmosphere of mutual
trust and making the voice of the residents of Karabakh audible for
the international community.

"The residents of Karabakh do not want to return to Azerbaijan. The
Republic of Azerbaijan is not considered the assignee of the Soviet
Union. Nagorno Karabakh ceased to be part of Azerbaijan according to
the same law according to which Azerbaijan ceased to be part of the
Soviet Union. So, what does Azerbaijan have to do with Karabakh? ",
Arkadi Ghoukasyan said.

According to Mr. Ghoukasyan, this approach does not mean a wish to
re-launch war. The President offers to listen to the facts brought
about by Azerbaijan, including the issues about referendum and
transitional status. But what is most important is that Nagorno
Karabakh must be included in the negotiation process.

"After all, Karabakh suffered more losses than Azerbaijan and Armenia",
the President said and added that the bombs were thrown at Stepanakert
and not at Yerevan or Baku.

He thinks that even if a document is signed, the nations must be
ready for historical reconciliation.

Otherwise, "if you do not exclude the possibility of launching was
in about 10-15 years, you will never compromise".

He recalled the years of war when the situation was milder and the
communication with the Azeris was closer. And now the sides speak
a language which "does not contribute to the peaceful settlement of
the conflict".