"AZERBAIJAN HAS TO NEGOTIATE WITH NKR"

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[09:24 pm] 12 March, 2007

"Azerbaijan will have to negotiate with NKR if they want to see
the Karabakh conflict regulated; Azerbaijan has no way out", Arkadi
Ghoukasyan, President of NKR told the journalists today.

The President of NKR noted that "today’s format is not a real one. It
would be real provided Armenia, Azerbaijan and NKR were engaged
in the negotiation process. French Co-Chair Bernard Fassier fully
realizes that the Karabakh conflict cannot be solved without NKR",
Mr. Ghoukasyan says.

"I am convinced that the OSCE Minsk group Co-Chairs are working and
will continue to work in this respect, but unfortunately they are
not that mighty to solve the problem. Azeris’ stance is also vital
in this view but the country doesn’t want to negotiate with Nagorno
Karabakh", Arkadi Ghoukasyan says.

While referring to Vardan Oskanyan’s announcement according to
which Karabakh is well aware of the negotiation process and the
existing document, Mr. Ghoukasyan said, "Armenia cannot negotiate with
Azerbaijan without the knowledge of Karabakh. It is quite normal that
they keep us informed. But there is one serious problem; as we are
not key participants of the negotiations we are unaware of certain
nuances, which can be decisive in the negotiation procedure. On the
whole, we are aware of the negotiation contents."

In answer to our question whether there is any conflict between the
RA and NKR authorities, Mr. Ghoukasyan said, "There are both minor
and serious conflicts but I don’t want to refer to them and open the
stakes. We never lose hope as our opinions coincide in some issues
and we voice hope we shall come to mutual understanding."

To note, Mr. Ghoukasyan doesn’t have great expectations from the
upcoming meeting of the Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers though
he highlights each meeting.