Nagornyy Karabakh leader calls for mutual trust in settling Karabakh conflict

Arminfo
23 Mar 07

Yerevan, 23 March: Only in the atmosphere of mutual trust can the
Nagornyy Karabakh [NKR] conflict be settled, NKR president Arkadi
Ghukasyan told journalists today following his meeting with EU envoy
to the South Caucasus Peter Semneby.

Regretting the absence of the atmosphere of mutual trust between the
sides and the ongoing hostile propaganda by Azerbaijan, Ghukasyan
added: "I am confident that the NKR issue can be settled only in the
atmosphere of mutual trust. We do not have this yet." According to the
NKR president, it is difficult to call current statements made by the
Azerbaijani side constructive.

The NKR president also said that it was impossible to create this
atmosphere in the coming months. In reply to a question as to what
progress the republic made in terms of settling conflict during his
presidency, Arkadi Ghukasyan said that there was some progress. "I
cannot say that this is an ideal option for us, but there is some
progress," Ghuksyan said. Answering a question as to what points
Armenia and Azerbaijan cannot agree on, Ghukasyan said that there are
several of them.

"It is the issue of the status, the referendum and territories," he
said and added that in general there was not a single issue which has
been completely resolved. In the meantime, he recalled that some
territories of the NKR were currently under Azerbaijan’s jurisdiction.

Dwelling on the recent human rights report on Armenia by the US
Department of State, in which the NKR is mentioned as an occupied
territory, Ghukasyan said that he considered the statement illogical
and not based on the processes which had taken place over the past
years.