ARMENIAN MINISTER NOTES PROGRESS IN KARABAKH SETTLEMENT IN 2006

Armenian TV, Armenia
Dec 17 2006

Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan has said that progress
was achieved in the settlement of the long-standing dispute with
Azerbaijan over the Nagornyy Karabakh region in 2006.

"If I try and compare where we were at the beginning of 2006 and where
we are today, I can say we have achieved progress although there are
still numerous unsettled problems, but there was progress in general,"
Oskanyan told Armenia TV on 17 December in an exclusive interview. "The
fact that we have a document outlining settlement principles on the
table, an it is worded in quite a balanced way, should be regarded
as a good basis for the continuation of the talks," he said.

However, the minister said the sides should not be overoptimistic
about the results.

"Having agreed the principles, we should take into account that
we have to go a long way to learn in detail those principles and
formulate the general terms of an agreement. I am sure there will be
difficulties since I know what details will be discussed there. There
will be serious obstacles and disagreements," Oskanyan said.

The Armenian minister also commented on the West’s negative reaction
to the constitutional referendum held in breakaway Nagornyy Karabakh
on 10 December.

"This will lead to a situation when the people of Karabakh will also
ignore statements of those organizations," Oskanyan said. "They did
not have to recognize [the referendum], but they could have positively
assessed the aspiration of the people of Karabakh to democracy."

Speaking about the action plan signed between Armenia and the EU as
part of the European Union Neighbourhood Programme, the minister said
that it was a guideline for Yerevan for the next five years.

"This is a serious multilateral programme and provides Armenia with
a serious opportunity to move that way and introduce qualitative
changes in our political, economic and social life. I think that
this will be a serious guideline for us over the next five years,"
Oskanyan told Armenia TV.