"WE SHOULD DOUBLE OUR EFFORTS AND CARRY ON MORE DELICATE DIPLOMACY," VARTAN OSKANIAN SAYS

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Sept 29 2006

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 29, NOYAN TAPAN. "Placing of the issue on protracted
conflicts in the post-Soviet area on the agenda of UN General Assembly
on the initiative of GUAM is not Azerbaijan’s diplomatic victory
and does not cause our anxiety." RA Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian
declared this at the September 29 press conference.

At the same time, he emphasized that this policy of Azerbaijan is
unequivocally a new challenge for the Armenian side: "One thing is
when you fight one country and another thing is four countries at the
same international instance and in this sense this is a new challenge,
but this does not intimidate us. We should double our efforts and
carry on more delicate diplomacy," Vartan Oskanian declared adding:
"I cannot make prognoses, but we have no problems connected with
processes in UN."

The Minister emphasized that Nagorno Karabakh Republic’s participation
is always on the agenda of the negotiations process. At the same
time, if the resolution on protracted conflicts is approved by the
General Assembly, NKR’s participation in the negotiations will become a
necessity and Armenia remaining in the negotiations process "will throw
off from itself the main burden of conducting the negotiations." He
again reminded that the decisions of UN General Assembly have only
a consultation character and are not subject, in difference to the
decisions of UN Security Council, to obligatory fulfilment.

Touching upon the forthcoming visit of French President Jacques Chirac
to Armenia, Vartan Oskanian declared that this is a historical and very
important visit having a very important political significance. Issues
of political, economic and cultural cooperation will be discussed
within the framework of the visit. The Minister reminded that France
is one of the OSCE Minsk Group country co-chairs and President
Chirac himself takes an active part in the peaceful settlement of
the conflict.

The Minister did not exclude Armenian servicemen’s possible
participation in the peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. However, for
this, in his words, we should wait until Israel gives maps of mine
fields. The Minister declared that the issue on sending sappers
"is on our agenda."