ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: NEXT KOCHARYAN-ALIYEV MEETING IS POSSIBLE AT SUMMIT OF CIS LEADERS THIS OCTOBER
Regnum, Russia
June 14 2007
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan does not rule out an
opportunity of another meeting of Armenian President Robert Kocharyan
and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev this year. In an interview
to Kentron TV-Channel, Vardan Oskanyan noted that the meeting is
possible at the next CIS leaders summit in early October. At that,
the Armenian foreign minister noted that by present moment there are
no preliminary agreements about a possible meeting.
Vardan Oskanyan noted that a three-page document is now on the
negotiation table over the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The document
includes all possible principles of settlement. The document is quite
complicated and is a result of the two-year negotiation process
at the level of foreign ministers and presidents of Armenia and
Azerbaijan. "If we base upon the document, I have some optimism, and
some shift can be expected as a result of discussions at the level of
presidents. The document is logical and compromise, although is does
not fully reflect claims of the parties," Vardan Oskanyan said adding
that despite numerous shifts, there are still some uncoordinated issues
left, and the parties will have to settle the most difficult problems.
Vardan Oskanyan announced that first of all, it is necessary to
resolve and give response to the questions regarding the right of the
nation of Nagorno Karabakh for self-determination through a referendum,
presence of a corridor for regular land transport link between Armenia
and Nagorno Karabakh, as well as settlement of all issues concerning
people security. The Armenian foreign minister assured that the three
principles are a logical foundation of settling the issue, but not a
pre-condition and are basis of the Karabakh conflict settlement. There
are positive changes in all the three dimensions both for Armenia
and Nagorno Karabakh.