Oskanian Does Not Confirm Reports About His Meeting With Mamedyarov

OSKANIAN DOES NOT CONFIRM REPORTS ABOUT HIS MEETING WITH MAMEDYAROV

Armenpress
Sept 04 2006

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS: Armenian foreign minister Vartan
Oskanian said proclamation of the independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic (NKR) 15 years ago was a historical necessity without
which Armenians worldwide would have been unable to consolidate
their resources.

Speaking during a TV bridge between Yerevan and Nagorno-Karabakh
capital Stepanakert on the occasion of the latter’s 15-th independence
anniversary, Oskanian said unfortunately all conflicts in the world
are viewed now in the political context and their legal grounds are
being ignored.

Oskanian admitted that the talks with Azerbaijan over the conflict
resolution were again in what he described ‘a critical situation." He
said the further course of the talks would be depending largely on
what kind of intervention the international community is going to make.

He said the document which is put now on the negotiations
table is based on the right of people of Karabakh to
self-determination. Oskanian did not confirm an upcoming meeting with
Azeri counterpart Elmar Mamedyarov. Mamedyarov was quoted by Trend news
agency late last week as saying that he had a telephone conversation
with OSCE Minsk Group cochairman from France, Bernard Fassier, who
suggested holding a meeting between the foreign ministers of Armenia
and Azerbaijan as part of the "Prague process" on September 12-13 in
Paris or 14-15 in London.

Mamedyarov was quoted as saying that he agreed to meet with
Oskanian. He also said the format of the meeting was being discussed
and some time later the day and the venue for the meeting would
be specified.