IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE ISSUE OF REFUGEE-ARMENIANS TODAY, NKR PRESIDENT’S ADVISER SAYS

Noyan Tapan News Agency, Armenia
Nov 14 2006

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 14, NOYAN TAPAN. According to the bill "On NKR
Citizenship," Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan will be given an
opportunity to settle in territories under NKR’s control. Arman
Melikian, NKR President’s Adviser on Foreign Political Issues,
declared at the November 14 press conference.

"As former citizens of Soviet Azerbaijan, refugee-Armenians have the
right to demand a compensation, be it moral, material compensation
or compensation of homeland," Melikian said.

In his words, it is quite natural that refugee-Armenians from
Azerbaijan who were deprived of everything, including the right to take
part in processes of privatization, "consider the issue of settlement
in the liberated territories (NT: territories beyond NKR bounds,
controlled by NKR are meant) as partial compensation resource. And
in this sense the Armenian authorities should do much to protect
the rights of these people. Unfortunately, these processes are a bit
belated, but it is not late yet to lead this process to its logical
end," Arman Melikian declared.

As regards the question, can the issue on refugee-Armenians become
a factor in the negotiations process on peaceful settlement of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the NKR President’s Adviser said that this
issue is already a factor that cannot be ignored. "One can leave out
this issue, but this factor will say its word one day," he said.

As he estimated, today the situation in the negotiations process
"is more positive" for the Armenian side than in 1998 when President
Levon Ter-Petrosian and his political team had a radical approach
in the issue of "security zone around NKR," as they were ready to
unconditionally return all these territories to Azerbaijan. But today
the issue of territories has become a subject of negotiations "and
there is no unconditioned readiness of that time." "Some progress
has been achieved, true, insufficient, but still progress," Arman
Melikian declared.

As for the issue that the Nagorno Karabakh side does not take part in
the negotiations process, the NKR President’s Adviser declared: "I am
against our participation in the negotiations just for participation.

A direct dialogue between NKR and Azerbaijan is needed for our
participation to be effective. And on the basis of this it will
become clear whether it is possible to reach an agreement or not. The
situation we have today will preserve until a possibility to come to
an agreement emerges."