NO-ONE WANTS A LASTING SETTLEMENT TO NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT MORE THAN WE DO – ARMENIAN FM
Author: A.Ismaylova

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Dec 5 2006

No one wants a lasting settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
more than we do, the Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan stated
at the 14th meeting of the Council of OSCE Foreign Ministers,Trend
reports. He said that the last meeting between the presidents of
Armenia and Azerbaijan gives us hope that agreement may yet be found
even on those principles around which we still don’t see eye to eye.

"We know that a lasting solution will depend on the security and status
of the people of Nagorno Karabakh. That is how this conflict began –
when their security was violated, and their right to self-determination
trampled over," Oskanyan said. The Minister underlined that the
principles under discussion seek to satisfy the right of the people
of Nagorno Karabakh to self determination while at the same time
eliminating the consequences of the conflict. We anticipate that
indeed Azerbaijan will find the will to acknowledge and respect the
right of the people of Nagorno Karabakh to determine its own future,
its own status, its own security arrangements. In just a few days,
Nagorno Karabakh will hold a referendum to adopt a Constitution,
Armenian Foreign Minister said. Oskanyan emphasized that so-called
"referendum" will take place in Nagorno-Karabakh several days later.

He spelled out that over the recent 15 years, they have built
political institutions, through elections they have selected their own
authorities and developed a legislative framework. They recognized
the need for a basic law, and recognized that a referendum is the
only acceptable way to collectively adopt that basic law.