KARABAKH TALKS IN ‘FINAL STAGE’
By RFE/RL staff (29/11/06)
Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep.
Nov 29 2006
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said today that negotiations on a
settlement with Armenia over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh
are entering their ‘final stage, RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service reported.
"It has been almost three years that the Karabakh negotiations have
been conducted within the Prague [peace] process," Aliyev said.
"During this period we have had many meetings at the levels of
presidents and foreign ministers. Of course, in these meetings ways
of resolving the problem were discussed. There were different stages,
but I can tell you we are approaching the final stage of negotiations."
Aliyev’s comments, broadcast on Azerbaijani State Television, came a
day after his talks with Armenian President Robert Kocharian on the
sidelines of the CIS summit in Minsk.
Constructive talks Aliyev assessed the results of his 28 November
meeting with Kocharian as "good," saying that the "negotiations were
held in a constructive matter." The success of future negotiations,
he added, will depend on the two presidents.
"The most contentious issues were at the center of the negotiations,"
Aliyev said. "Lately we have succeeded in resolving some of them. On
some of the issues on which we previously disagreed, we now have
agreement. But we still have some principal issues on which we have
different opinions. And both presidents addressed these issues."
Armenia has not yet commented on Aliyev’s statement. However,
upon arriving in Yerevan on 28 November, Armenian Foreign Minister
Vartan Oskanian provided a similar appraisal of the presidents’
talks that day.
"I can’t give you an assessment yet whether there was a progress
during the talks or not, but I can tell you that both presidents
positively evaluated the meeting itself in terms of atmosphere and
constructive approaches," Oskanian said. "I think in coming days the
leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan will analyze everything in detail,
after which they will give concrete instruction to the ministers
about further steps to be taken."
The two countries are still officially at war over the predominantly
Armenian territory that seceded from Soviet Azerbaijan in 1988. About
30,000 people died in fighting between the two sides before a
Russian-brokered cease-fire was reached in 1994. The conflict
has been "frozen" ever since, with Armenian forces occupying
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Clear stance The Azerbaijani president clearly outlined the stance his
country is taking in negotiations on a settlement to the longstanding
conflict.
"Azerbaijan hasn’t changed its position," he said. "Azerbaijan insists
on the resolution of the issue [of Nagorno-Karabakh] on the basis of
our territorial integrity. The four resolutions of the UN Security
Council should be implemented. Azerbaijan’s land should be vacated by
the occupying forces, and more than 1 million of our citizens should
be able to return to their lands.
"Again, Azerbaijan’s position has not changed. [Azerbaijan’s]
territorial integrity should be restored and within that [restoration],
the people who live in Nagorno-Karabakh should be given the highest
status for self-rule."
Aliyev had strong praise for the role international mediators have had
in trying to resolve the dispute. The OSCE Minsk group, co-chaired
by representatives of Russia, the United States, and France, has
overseen negotiations since the 1994 cease-fire went into effect.
"Respected international organizations saying that the issue should
be resolved within the principle of our territorial integrity –
of course this approach strengthens our position," Aliyev said.
"Generally, every issue should be resolved in keeping with
international law and norms. No issue can be resolved outside of
this approach. Because the creation of any kind of precedent can also
create problems in the future for other countries."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
