ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN CLOSE TO RESOLVING NAGORNO-KARABAKH ISSUE : ARMENIAN ACTING FOREIGN MINISTER

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
April 20 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku/ Trend / Vardan Oskanian, Armenia’s Acting Foreign
Minister, has stated during the joint press conference being held with
his Latvian counterpart, Artis Pabriks in Yerevan today that Armenia
and Azerbaijan are close to resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"While comparing the document, which is presently on the negotiations
table together with the previous documents, it is evident that the
document is more realistic for both disputing parties. The principles
that are included in the document have been more balanced. In addition,
the overwhelming majority of approaches to the issue have been agreed
by the both parties. We are really close to settling this conflict,"
he stated, Trend reports referring to ARKA.

At the same time, the Head of the Armenian Foreign Ministry noted
that there were some approaches and principles left disagreed by
the disputing parties, but these are to be agreed during the meeting
between the Presidents of the two states. "Only after that, it will
become clear whether the peaceful negotiations will progress or not,"
he added.

Commenting on his last meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart,
Elmar Mammadyarov, Mr. Oskanian refused to comment by stating that
"the time has not yet come to do it". However, during the last meeting
with his Azerbaijani counterpart he did say that the next date for
negotiations between the two Heads of the Foreign Offices of the two
countries had not been determined.

"No agreement was reached on the next forthcoming meeting. However,
the OSCE Minsk Co-Chairmen will certainly visit the region to become
acquainted with the situation there and prepare a ground for the
meeting between the two Presidents prior to the Armenian parliamentary
elections to be held on 12 May" stated Mr. Oskanian.

Notably, the last meeting was between the Armenian and Azerbaijani
Foreign Ministers held in Belgrade on 18 April where both Ministries
participated in the sixteenth meeting of Foreign Ministries of
BSEC (Black Sea Economic Cooperation). All the OSCE Minsk Group
Co-Chairmen, namely Matthew Bryza (U.S.A.), Yuriy Merzlyakov (
Russia), and Bernard Fassier ( France), as well as Andjey Kaspshik,
the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office participated
in the meeting between the Foreign Ministries of the disputing parties.

During the discussions held, the Minsk Group Co-Chairmen put forward
some proposals to the disputing parties emphasizing a number of issues,
which have been not been agreed within the principles being presently
viewed by the parties.