ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
March 21, 2007 Wednesday

Russia plays positive role at talks on Nagorno-Karabakh-Azerbaijan

Russia plays a constructive role at the talks on settling the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict around Nagorno-Karabakh. This opinion
was expressed by Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov,
speaking on Wednesday in the Institute of Central Asia and Caucasus
at the John Hopkins University in Washington.

“Guided by the experience of my talks with co-chairmen (Minsk Group
of the OSCE on Nagorno-Karabakh), I can say that the Russian
representative plays a very constructive role,” the foreign minister
noted. “There was a meeting in Moscow before the last round of talks
at the ministerial level in Geneva.

“Russia’s position, which was corroborated by my meeting with
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, coincides with ours: a forward
movement is necessary:” “I appraise Russia’s role as positive,”
the minister emphasized again.

Mamedyarov noted that Azerbaijan has no greater priority task in
implementing its foreign policy course than a settlement of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. “Nagorno-Karabakh is a very sensitive
question for the peoples of the two countries,” he continued.

“We were close to concluding an agreement a couple of times over the
past 15 years, during which the talks have been conducted, but some
events, interfering with achieving peace, would pop up at the last
moment. I personally believe that it is the most propitious time now
to settle the conflict. We should do it step by step, moving to
greater confidence between the two nations.”

According to the minister, Baku claims that the earliest settlement
of the conflict “is in the interests of Armenia and its national
security”. “It’s clear that a political decision should be made,”
the minister added. “A decision to consolidate gradually confidence
between the two countries, to step up economic cooperation, to
withdraw troops and to deploy international peacekeepers. These are
actualities of life.

“The quicker the Armenian leadership understands this, the better it
will be for Armenians themselves and for the region as a whole.”
“We continue work on principles of a settlement for the time
being,” the minister underlined. “Much has been done, but we should
do even more. We should look into the future.”