VARTAN OSKANIAN: NAGORNO KARABAKH SETTLEMENT IS ALL-ARMENIAN PROBLEM

Noyan Tapan
Dec 19 2006

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 19, NOYAN TAPAN. After the last meeting of Armenian
and Azerbaijani Presidents in Minsk both sides have many things
to think over. I think after the New Year holidays, in January on
in early February, the sides will try to resume negotiations on
peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict." Armenian
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian declared at the December 19 press
conference. As for RA President Robert Kocharian’s recent statement
that no active negotiations are scheduled in the first six months of
2007 due to the parliamentary elections, the Minister said that the
President was rather exact in this issue. "No doubt, in the preelection
period the main attention will be concentrated on the elections. The
negotiations will be less public and the periodicity of the meetings
will be also lowered, but the negotiations process will not suffer
in the sense of its content. The process will continue at the level
of Foreign Ministers," V.Oskanian declared. The Minister refuted
accusations addressed by some opposition forces to the authorities,
according to which the authorities speculate the Nagorno Karabakh
issue abusing it in the home policy. "The process has its logic and
use of artificial obstacles for achieving political purposes can
do a great harm to the state and to the people. We proceed from our
national interests, from the logic of the negotiations process and
from the current situation," V.Oskanian declared.

The Minister warned that speculation of the Nagorno Karabakh problem
may result in dangerous processes and called the political forces for
standing higher than narrow interests, as settlement of the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict is an all-Armenian problem.