OSKANIAN ‘REASSURED’ BY KARABAKH MEDIATORS OVER UN ROLE
By Harry Tamrazian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Sept 27 2006

International mediators have all but dispelled Armenian concerns
about the United Nations’s involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace
process sought by Azerbaijan, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said
after meeting them late Tuesday.

Speaking to RFE/RL from New York, he confirmed shunning his Azerbaijani
counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov in retaliation for the Karabakh issue’s
inclusion on the UN General Assembly. The two men were due to meet
in the presence of the French, Russian and U.S. co-chairs of the OSCE
Minsk Group on the sidelines of the assembly’s ongoing session.

"The meeting [with Mammadyarov] was cancelled at our initiative because
we found it necessary to clarify the situation to see what possible
developments might unfold there," he said. "This is what was done at
my meeting [with the co-chairs].

"In that sense, I am satisfied with explanations given to me. We
now have a better idea of the situation and will make an appropriate
decisions as to what our next steps are."

Oskanian added that Yerevan still has some unanswered questions
regarding the UN’s role in the peace process and expects the mediators
to address them in the coming weeks. "I can say for sure that there
will be more separate meetings with the co-chairs," he said. "I don’t
rule out their visit to the region. Also possible — and desirable —
is the resumption of direct negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan
both at the ministerial and presidential levels."

Presidents Ilham Aliev and Robert Kocharian plan to attend a summit of
the Commonwealth of Independent States which is scheduled to take place
in Belarus next month. Officials in Baku and Yerevan have not ruled
out the possibility of their encounter on the fringes of the summit.

Addressing the General Assembly on Monday, Mammadyarov cited
Oskanian’s refusal to meet him as proof of Armenia’s failure to take a
"constructive approach to solve existing problems." He charged that the
Armenians are defying international norms by insisting on international
recognition of the Karabakh Armenians’ right to self-determination.

But according to the Armenian side, that right is at the heart of the
Minsk Group’s existing peace plan which envisages that Karabakh’s
status will determined by the disputed territory’s population in
a referendum. Oskanian again claimed that Azerbaijan "seems to be
constantly trying to renounce" the idea. The only way out of the
deadlock is to "revive the Minsk Group document and force Azerbaijan
not to renege on its pledges," he said.

"My meeting with the co-chairs was quite productive," said Oskanian.

"There are some positive movements. We will decide our next steps
upon our return to Yerevan."