ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE TO THE KARABAKH CONFLICT NEGOTIATING PROCESS

arminfo
2008-06-16 13:04:00

ArmInfo. ‘If there is sincere aspiration for the conflict settlement,
no "precedents" can become an obstacle on this way. Public opinion
poll has been recently held in Azerbaijan as a result of which 29% of
population were for the military way of the conflict settlement. This
is a very dangerous tendency, which is the result of the militaristic
rhetoric that always sounds in Azerbaijan’, – Armenian Foreign
Minister Edward Nalbandyan said in an interview with Russian
"Nezavisimaya gazeta".

He also added he thinks there is no country in the world which
would make boast of the tenfold growth of its military expenditure
and every third citizen wanted the war. War cannot be an answer,
it cannot be solution.

There is no alternative to the negotiating process. ‘For this reason
we hope that the meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents
on 6 June, which we consider positive and constructive, will make it
possible for us to continue the talks to find the settlement ways on
the basis of suggestions made by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs at
the end of 2007 in Madrid’, – Nalbandyan emphasized.

He also said that when the OSCE MG co-chairs visit the region they
always try to meet the leaders of Karabakh. Armenian president
and foreign minister always hold consultations with the Karabakh
leaders before and after meeting the Azerbaijani party, i.e. Karabakh
indirectly participates in the negotiating process. ‘But I don’t think
that direct participation of Stepenakert in the talks may make closer
the conflict settlement’, – Nalbandyan said.

When commenting on the speaker of the Russian State Duma Boris
Geyzlov’s statements made in Baku that the Russian party has potential
to affect the talks, Edward Nalbandyan said he is not aware of this
statement but he thinks the word "affect" should be understood in
the context of the negotiating process continuation, in which "we
highly appreciate the role of Russia as well as two other co-chairs
from the USA and France the efforts of which are directed not to
imposing solution but to supporting the parties in the way of the
compromising way out>, – the minister thinks. ‘I am more optimistic
and I hope that the negotiating process will have a result.

Anyway, we should make as much efforts as we can not to allow the
war actions restoration, this is Armenia’s approach and we hope that
Azerbaijan also understands this>, – Nalbandyan concluded.