RENE VAN DER LINDEN: ARMENIA’S SELF-ISOLATION MAY NEGATIVELY INFLUENCE THE COUNTRY’S FUTURE

ArmInfo Agency, Armenia
Oct 3 2007

ArmInfo-TURAN. Issues of Karabakh conflict settlement became one of
the main topics of the meeting of the speaker of the Milli Mejlis
Ogtay Asadov with PACE President Rene van der Linden in Strasburg,
Wednesday. As Linden said during a briefing upon completion of the
meeting, the absence of any progress in Karabakh conflict settlement
"negatively influences the region’s development as a whole". He
recalled that Azerbaijan and Armenia, entering the Council of Europe
assumed obligations to resolve the conflict peacefully. Armenia has
no contacts with its neighbors on 2/3 of its borders. This may have a
negative impact on the future generations of the country. "However,
some Armenians, who live abroad don’t want to think about their
fellow-countrymen", Linden said. He mentioned the readiness of the
Council of Europe to support the efforts for peaceful settlement of
the conflict. For his part, the Speaker of Azerbaijani Parliament Ogtay
Asadov urged CE and other international organizations to be firm in the
decisions accepted by them on Karabakh conflict. The world community
must condemn Armenia for its "aggressive" politics, Asadov said.