AZERBAIJANI NOT AFRAID OF ARMENIA’S WITHDRAWAL FROM KARABAKH TALKS
Interfax News Agency
March 19 2008
Russia
Armenia’s threat to withdraw from the Karabakh negotiations does not
concern Azerbaijan if the resolution recognizing Nagorno Karabakh as
part of Azerbaijan is adopted as the foundation of the negotiations,
an Azeri Foreign Ministry spokesman told a briefing on Wednesday.
"No one is keeping Armenia in the negotiation process. We are not
forcing them to sit down at the negotiation table. It is Azerbaijan
that is agreeing on a compromise by taking part in the talks with
them," said the spokesman.
"There is no need to threaten us with withdrawal from the
negotiations. Azerbaijan is now not in a position to be threatened,
and the political tensions in Armenia do not allow it to make such
conditions," the official said.
Commenting on Armenia’s statement about a possible meeting between
the presidents of Armenian and Azerbaijan at the upcoming NATO summit,
the Foreign Ministry spokesman said that in order to organize such a
meeting "the Armenians need to demonstrate a constructive attitude to
negotiations, but we are now only seeing sabotage and a destructive
approach from them."