PRESIDENT OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH: NO SOLUTION POSSIBLE WITHOUT STEPANAKERT’S INVOLVEMENT

WPS Agency, Russia
DEFENSE and SECURITY
July 2, 2008 Wednesday

President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Bako Saakjan, met with OSCE
Minsk Group chairmen Bernard Fassier (France), Matthew Bryza (United
States), and Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia) in Stepanakert on June 28.

Saakjan’s press service reported the Karabakh settlement in the focus
of attention at the talks. The president informed the visitors that
no final solution to the problem was possible without Stepanakert’s
direct involvement in the process. He added that Baku’s anti-Armenian
propaganda and warlike statements failed to promote trust between the
involved parties and had a thoroughly negative effect on the talks
and regional stability in general.

The president said the matter should be tackled within the framework
of the OSCE Minsk Group and Baku’s efforts to find a new intermediary
had a disrupting effect on the process of conflict settlement.