KARABAKH LEADER WANTS TO JOIN PEACE TALKS

Reuters, UK
June 6 2007

YEREVAN, June 5 (Reuters) – Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist leader Arkady
Gukasyan said on Tuesday the region should be involved in peace talks
rather than waiting for Azerbaijan and Armenia to decide its fate.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
is trying to broker a peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia to
cement a 1994 ceasefire to end a war over Karabakh, in which more
than 35,000 people were killed.

Karabakh, an enclave in Azeri territory, is almost entirely populated
by ethnic Armenians since many of the ethnic Azeri minority were
driven out in the fighting in the early 1990s.

The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan are due to meet on Saturday to
discuss the situation in and round Karabakh whose 140,000 inhabitants
have voted in favour of independence. It is not internationally
recognised as a country.

The region is represented by Armenia in the peace talks and Gukasyan
said that while they did not see eye-to-eye on everything, he felt
Karabakh’s wishes — particularly for self-determination — were
being heard.

"Karabakh will never agree to be part of Azerbaijan. We will not give
up our freedom. If there is no agreement on status, everything else
is out," Gukasyan said after meeting the OSCE.

"Keeping discussions between Armenia and Azerbaijan is destructive,"
he told reporters in the Armenian capital Yerevan.

"We are talking about the destiny of Karabakh and I don’t see any
reason for us not to be in the negotiations. Karabakh should have
the final word."

The OSCE hopes Armenia and Azerbaijan will leave aside the thorny
issue of who rules Karabakh and instead agree practical steps to
return Azeri refugees to districts round Karabakh, secure a corridor
between the enclave and Armenia, and allow international peacekeepers
to monitor the moves.

Despite wanting a seat at the negotiating table, Gukasyan said he was
ready to see if Armenia and Azerbaijan came up with a deal acceptable
to Karabakh.

"Let’s let the negotiations finish first and then we’ll assess the
situation," he said.

"Unfortunately I don’t see a resolution. Karabakh will have to get
involved sooner or later, if they want to solve specific issues."