ARMENIA’S ATTITUDE TO DISCUSSING FIRES IN UN IS NORMAL

Lragir.am
05 Sept 06

Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan told news reporters September 5 there
is nothing worrying about the fact that the problem of fires at the
front line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was included in the draft
agenda of the 61st session of the U.S. General Assembly.

"You see, the agenda is there, the Azerbaijanis reported the problem of
fires to the UN. This is perhaps their right, in the long run. However,
considering that there is a Minsk process, there is the OSCE which
attends to these matters, the United Nations cannot do anything new in
preventing or eliminating the fires. Simply we do not think there is
necessity and we think that Karabakh and Azerbaijan may cooperate over
the problem of fires and settle the problem at the front line. Simply
the involvement of the UN with regard to this question is impertinent,"
says Vardan Oskanyan.

He does not deny that the issue raised by the Azerbaijanis will
nevertheless appear on the agenda of the 61st session of the UN
General Assembly. However, this does not worry official Yerevan.

"You see, it depends on the decision that will be made.

Subsequently, we will decide our steps," says Vardan Oskanyan. He says
they received a letter from Karel de Gucht, the OSCE CiO proposing
to send an OSCE mission to the region to monitor the area of fires
and give an evaluation.

"Karabakh must eventually become engaged, and it will be enabled by
their cooperation, and Armenia, a facilitator of these processes, has
already said there is no problem. Therefore, the participation and
involvement of the UN in these processes is impertinent, we think,"
Vardan Oskanyan says.

He thinks that the anxiety of Azerbaijan to prevent the fires is
not bad but only if it involves cooperation with Karabakh and the
right organizations.