CO-CHAIRS HAD A LONG TALK WITH ARKADY GHUKASYAN

Lragir.am
07-06-2007 18:28:25

The meeting of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Merzlyakov, Bryza and
Fassier on June 7 lasted for over two hours. In a news conference
after the meeting in answer to the remark of the reporters the meeting
lasted long the NKR president said they had not met for ages. Arkady
Ghukasyan said during the meeting he reasserted the standpoint of
NKR. "I state that our stance has not changed and will not change. It
is pointless to consider any other issue until there is agreement on
the status of Nagorno-Karabakh," Arkady Ghukasyan says.

According to him, if there is no agreement on the status of Karabakh,
they are not ready to discuss the territories. "It is another thing
that the territories are constantly on the agenda, and it does not
depend on us. I said during our previous meeting that we cannot avoid
participating in the discussion of the issues Azerbaijan is interested
in. But on the condition that Azerbaijan must agree to discuss the
issues that we are interested in.

Issue number one for us is the status, and the security of Karabakh. If
we do not agree on these issues, all the other secondary issues
become moot.

You know that the issues of territories and refugees are the
consequences, they were not the cause of the conflict," Arkady
Ghukasyan said, adding that if the sides do not have a common approach
towards the cause, it is pointless to discuss the consequences.

The reporters asked what the co-chairs say when Arkady Ghukasyan
tells this to the co-chairs. "They know that there is logic in our
standpoint.

Usually it is accepted in diplomacy to say I agree with you, I
understand you, but there is reality. The issue of Nagorno-Karabakh
cannot have a subjective basis. There is objective basis which nobody
can avoid," said Arkady Ghukasyan, mentioning that the objective
basis includes the war Azerbaijan waged against Nagorno-Karabakh.

The NKR president states the resolution of the problem should be
based on compromise. Today, however, there is no need for abstract
talks, because the compromise will be negotiated. "Because our
compromise directly depends on the compromise of Azerbaijan. If we
see Azerbaijan is not ready for a compromise, naturally we will not
agree to a unilateral compromise," Arkady Ghukasyan says.