VARTAN OSKANIAN: "NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT COULD BE CLOSE TO RESOLUTION"

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
April 18 2007

The Nagorno Karabakh conflict could be very close to a resolution,
and Armenia is committed to working with the peace plan negotiated
by the OSCE Minsk Group dealing with the conflict, Armenian foreign
minister Vartan Oskanian told the OSCE Permanent Council.

"We could be close to a resolution. I have seen all the proposals
that have ever been produced by the mediators. I can assure you we
have never been this close," Oskanian said.

He told the Permanent Council, the 56-country Organization’s main
decision-making body, that the proposal now under consideration was
well-balanced.

"This gives something to everyone and denies every maximalist demand
the sides might have. It is a balanced approach, and we hope we will
be able to continue to make progress on the basis of this document,"
he said.

Oskanian also discussed Armenia’s 12 May parliamentary elections,
saying the country was committed to ensure they would be free and fair.

"This is a huge test for Armenia’s democracy, and I firmly believe
that we together – the government, the opposition, the public and
the OSCE – we together can indeed hold a normal election that will
greatly contribute to Armenia’s further democratization processes,"
he said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress