NKR TO JOIN NEGOTIATIONS WHEN AZERBAIJAN SHOWS WILL TO RESOLVE THE CONFLICT, PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER OF NKR

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 21 2006

Matthew Bryza, Minsk Group Co-Chairman of US, will meet with Arkady
Ghoukassyan, President of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), now present
in the USA.

Ashot Ghoulyan, Speaker of the Parliament, said at the Yerevan press
conference, held on work results of the Armenian-Karabakh interstate
commission, that there are no meetings planned for Karabakh MPs,
Russian and French MG OSCE Co-Chairmen who are present in Armenia.

A. Ghoulyan was indefinite about whether NKR is satisfied with the
current results of the negotiations on the conflict solution or not.

"There is lack of information on concerning the negotiations and so
it is too yearly for conclusions". He said that it is better to be
moderately optimistic about the coming meeting of Armenian and Azeri
Presidents. "The chances for success split 50/50". A. Ghoulyan said
that NKR will join the negotiations process only when Azerbaijan
reveals political will to settle the conflict. Inclusion of
Stepanakert into the negotiation process will be the evidence of
the negotiations’ transition to an efficient stage. On the whole,
Nagorno-Karabakh’s participation in negotiations is not an end in
itself, as the international community has admitted that the Karabakh
conflict has three parties, he said. Speaking of the constitutional
reforms in Nagorno- Karabakh, A.Ghulyan said that the draft reforms
do not give the right to be elected president for a third term.

Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Tigran Torosyan said that the
country which is constantly coming out with militarist statements
and briskly increasing its military budget, is not at all inclined
to the conflict settlement. He added that Azerbaijan openly rejects
the agreements reached at the twosome meetings. The Speaker said
that achievement of at least small progress during the presidents’
meeting may be qualified as success. But he doesn’t consider that
the year 2006 may be crucial in the peace process. T.Torosyan added
that the final settlement of the Karabakh conflict may be achieved
only with the consent of the two countries’ parliaments and after
holding a referendum in Nagorno-Karabakh. He also noted that the next
meeting of the Armenian-Karabakh inter-parliamentary commission will
take place in Stepanakert in spring 2007.

To note, besides the Karabakh peace process, today’s session covered
also the issues of constitutional reforms in Nagorno-Karabakh and
harmonization of the two countries’ economic legislation.