STANCES OF KARABAKH CONFLICT SIDES DEPART FROM EACH OTHER

KarabakhOpen
18-04-2008 10:46:53

The settlement of the Karabakh conflict appears as if "the deeper into
the forest, the more wood". The mediators state about rapid settlement,
whereas the stances of the sides depart from each other.

One of the issues of the session of the joint parliamentary commission
of Armenia and Karabakh is the possibility of signing an interstate
agreement between Armenia and Karabakh.

The U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice said for several times
the sides have been close to the settlement of the Karabakh conflict
in the talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group. She said it is necessary
to make some difficult decisions and reach agreement between Azerbaijan
and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.

According to the U.S. secretary of state, she has informed the
governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan that they are behind of the
rest of the region due to the unsettled conflict. She said it can be
settled if there is political will, and it should be settled.

"In the upcoming years the foreign policy of Armenia will maintain its
complementary content and become more proactive," said Serge Sargsyan,
the president of Armenia, while introducing the new foreign minister
Edward Nalbandyan to the leadership of the ministry. He underlined
the importance of creating favorable conditions for the peace and
fair settlement of the Karabakh issue. Noting that there is certain
misunderstanding in Baku regarding the oil dollars and crude oil
resources of Azerbaijan, Serge Sargsyan said: "We must be accountable
to ourselves, as well as explain to others that the power of money
is not enough to build a state, the power of money is not enough to
create an army."

Armenia has always supported the fulfillment of the right of the
people of Nagorno-Karabakh for self-determination. "We want a peace
settlement. We are not afraid of war but we do not believe in war,"
he said. "The independence of Karabakh is already a fact," Serge
Sargsyan said.

"Self-determination of Nagorno-Karabakh is possible within the
borders of the Azerbaijani state. We are ready to discuss the model
of autonomy," said the minister of foreign affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar
Mammedyarov. "There are several precedents of self-determination. For
instance, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan in Russia." According to him,
it is possible to use one instance from history as a model to settle
the Karabakh conflict. "Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan, and
the Armenian population of this region are our citizens. The more
Azerbaijanis visit Nagorno-Karabakh – Shushi, Khodgalu, other towns,
the more use for the settlement of the problem," he said.

The departure of stances of the conflict sides takes place along with
the efforts of Russia to set up interstate relations with Abkhazia
and South Ossetia.

The European Union is concerned about the decision of the Russian
government to set up relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia and
urged NATO not to take such a step.

The press secretary of the EU representative on foreign policy Xavier
Solana said the EU has always upheld the territorial integrity of
Georgia, Reuters reports.

The secretary general of NATO Jaap de Hoep Scheffer also voiced deep
concern about the actions of Russia.

Earlier the minister of foreign affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov had
announced that the Russian president Putin instructed the government
to develop closer relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia and with
the businesses in those regions.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress