CO-CHAIRS HOPE THE PRESIDENTS WILL ARRIVE AT A VERBAL AGREEMENT BEFORE THE ELECTIONS
armradio.am
25.12.2007 13:19
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair
Matthew Bryza expressed hope that "before the presidential elections
in Armenia it will be possible to reach a verbal or, as we say,
a gentleman agreement on the Karabakh conflict settlement."
"In Madrid Ministers Lavrov and Kouchner and US Deputy Secretary of
State Burns conveyed to their Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts
the last edition of the basic principles. The document includes
suggestions on a small number of issues in the direction of overcoming
the misunderstandings existing between Armenia and Azerbaijan,"
the US mediator said.
Matthew Bryza noted that the Co-Chairs are planning to visit the
region in mid-January, 2008 to learn about Kocharyan’s and Aliev’s
reaction to the latest suggestions.
"The Co-Chairs hope that the Presidents will arrive at a verbal
agreement on the document before the presidential elections in
Armenia. This verbal agreement will allow to start the negotiations
on the peace agreement," he noted.
"The basic principles suggested in Madrid can be viewed as the outcome
of the negotiations of the past three years. The main principles we
have today are not identical with the ones which we started with. The
main format is nearly the same, but over the past three years different
ideas and approaches have been suggested at different points. Some
changes the Co-Chairs took into consideration are essential and derive
form the concessions of both parties," Mr. Bryza said.
"The Presidents themselves must be confident that the mediators’
suggestion promises real achievements and corresponds to national
interests of their countries. When every President confesses that
he and his counterpart have reached the endpoint in the search for
concessions, they must make a final choice, i.e. agree with the fair
concession on the bargaining table or start over with the threat of
military conflict persisting. We hope that the Presidnets will choose
the basic principles which outline a peaceful and lasting settlement,"
Matthew Bryza said.