THE NEGOTIATION FORMAT NEEDS TO CHANGE, MEDIATORS SAY

armradio.am
17.09.2007 11:35

Yesterday the President of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Bako Sahakyan
received the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Matthew Bryza (USA), Bernard
Fassier (France) and Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia). NKR Presidnet’s
Press Office reports that at the start of the meeting the Co-Chairs
congratulated Bako Sahakyan on assuming President’s office.

Issues related to the current stage of the peaceful settlement of the
Karabakh conflict and the its possible developments were discusses
during the meeting.

Presenting the position pf NKR, the President underlined that Karabakh
stands for exceptionally peaceful resolution, especially stressing that
without full participation of the Karabakh side in the negotiations
the resolution of the issue is impossible.

The Co-Chairs also attached importance to Karabkh’s participation in
the talks, expressing hope that it’s a matter of time. Bako Sahakyan
stressed the importance of the Co-Chairs’ visit to Nagorno Karabakh
in the framework of a regional visit.

A number of other issues of mutual importance were also discussed. The
meeting was attended by acting NKR Foreign Minister Georgy Petrosyan.

According to the Co-Chairs, the aim of the visit was to get acquainted
with the newly elected President of Nagorno Karabakh and to exchange
opinions. Following the meeting with Bako Sahakyan, Russian mediator
Yuri Merzlyakov noted that the meeting was extremely productive,
karabakh-open.com webpage informs.

According to French Co-Chair Bernard Fassier, the meeting was very
interesting and positive, adding: "I think we shall deepen and develop
the cooperation with the leadership of NKR."

"It’s obvious that one day we shall see the representatives of Nagorno
Karabakh ate the bargaining table, and the sooner it happens, the
better. We have not set the current format, but it’s time to change
it," Bernard Fassier said.

American Co-Chair Matthew Bryza added that the start of the new
political season in Armenia and Azerbaijan does not mean that the
negotiation process must stop.

Following the meeting Bako Sahakyan told the journalists that the
Karabakhi side reaffirmed its commitment to the peaceful settlement
of the issue and constructive dialogue.

"We spoke about the format of negotiations and noted that it’s an
ineffective format. We spoke about Armenia’s participation and said
we tryst in Armenia. Moreover, we are grateful for its efforts,
but for the logical conclusion of the talks the full participation
of Karabakh is needed," NKR President noted.