PROGRESS IN KARABAKH SETTLEMENT SHOULD FOLLOW ARMENIAN ELECTIONS

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS General Newswire
February 20, 2007 Tuesday

Parliamentary elections to be held in Armenia on May 12 should open up
real opportunities for settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenian
Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian said at a press conference on Tuesday.

"I cannot rule out that we could reach significant results in settling
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by the end of this year.

However, my optimism is cautious, because I have been involved in the
settlement process for about 14 years, and there have been times when
the sides were close to concluding a deal on the Nagorno-Karabakh
issue," Oskanian said.

"The document now on the negotiating table inspires hope for
a settlement and, in the final analysis, provides the chance for
settling the conflict," he said.

"Following the parliamentary elections in Armenia, the sides will
have a tangible opportunity to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
if the sides display enough political will," he said.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is currently
visiting Yerevan, also said he hopes that "the document that has been
drawn up in the past months should serve as a basis for the parties
to resolve the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh by the end of this year."