FRENCH LEADER IN FAVOR OF OSCE MEDIATION IN NK TALKS

Mediamax news agency, Yerevan,
30 Sep 06

Yerevan, 30 September: French President Jacques Chirac said in Yerevan
today that he believes it would be counter-productive to extend the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict settlement beyond the OSCE Minks Group
and involve other international organizations, particularly the UN,
in the process.

President Chirac said this asked by Mediamax news agency at his joint
news conference with Armenian President Robert Kocharyan today.

"The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen have been working excellently over
the past years and are the best experts on the Nagornyy Karabakh
problem. I think that if agencies that are less aware of the history
and niceties of the conflict start dealing with the settlement,
that will be counter-productive and might complicate the situation,"
Chirac said.

He described the latest proposals of the Minsk Group co-chairmen
as "very serious" and voiced the hope that Yerevan and Baku would
accept them.

Answering Mediamax’s question, Armenia President Kocharyan voiced
his confidence that "not international forums that take decisions
through voting, but professional teams of mediators should deal with
the Karabakh conflict settlement".

"Before voting, the [conflicting] countries look for allies to
ensure required votes. Such processes do not lead to settlement, on
the contrary, they cause new conflicts, this time on international
organizations’ rostrum. And when someone is trying to lead the process
to this direction, we have serious doubts about sincerity of his
intentions," Kocharyan said.

Speaking about President Chirac’s personal involvement in the Karabakh
settlement, Kocharyan said that "the French president knows the
problem at the level of an exert".

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress