AZERI MINISTER SAYS BRUSSELS TALKS PUT OFF AT ARMENIA’S REQUEST

Day.az, Azerbaijan
Dec 5 2006

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has said that the
Karabakh peace talks expected on 4-5 December in Brussels were put
off at Armenia’s request.

In an exclusive interview with Day.az website on 5 December,
Mammadyarov said:

"A meeting with my Armenian counterparts took place sometime earlier,
after Minsk. They asked me for some time to understand the situation
so as to define the final direction of movement. As I understand,
there is no answer and therefore there is no meeting."

Mammadyarov said that none of the voiced hypotheses about the return
of Armenian-occupied Lacin District and a referendum on Nagornyy
Karabakh’s status were matters braking the negotiating process.

Commenting on a statement by the regional alliance of Georgia, Ukraine,
Azerbaijan and Moldova (GUAM) condemning the scheduled constitutional
referendum in the breakaway Nagornyy Karabakh region, Mammadyarov
said that international organizations will not naturally accept the
conduct of the referendum. He believes that the "referendum" fits
into no logical framework and it will give a negative impetus to the
peace process.