YEREVAN AND BAKU REITERATE DEADLOCK ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH

The Messenger, Georgia
Aug 15 2007

The best way to settle conflict, some political analysts argue,
is with economic development that benefits all sides.

Recent rhetorical scuffles between Armenia and Azerbaijan suggest
this is not an option in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the news
agency Regnum writes.

During his recent visit to Kazakhstan, President Ilham Aliyev of
Azerbaijan blamed the Armenian side for the deadlock in negotiations
over the disputed region, and pointed out that the financial gain of
cooperating with Azerbaijan would outweigh any foreign aid Armenia is
receiving. Relations between Baku and Yerevan will improve, he said,
only when Armenia stops its politics of occupation.

Viktor Sodomonian, press secretary for Armenian President Robert
Kocharian, responded by saying that negotiations were frustrated
because of Azerbaijan’s unconstructive and backward-thinking approach.

Sodomonian added that the republic of Nagorno-Karabakh indisputably
exists, and cannot be subject to trade or concessions.