NO PROGRESS REPORTED IN MOSCOW TALKS ON GARABAGH
AzerNews Weekly
Aug 6 2008
Azerbaijan
Talks last week in Moscow between the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign
ministers seeking to settle the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict
produced no tangible result despite proceeding constructively.
The Azerbaijani minister, Elmar Mammadyarov, told a news conference
after meeting his counterpart on Friday that their meeting had
been beneficial and both sides decided to continue holding peace
talks. Also, he did not rule out that a meeting of the two countries`
presidents might soon take place.
The Armenian minister, Eduard Nalbandian, said both countries had
agreed to continue negotiating, using the conflict resolution agenda
introduced by OSCE mediators.
He also said the next face-to-face meeting might be held on the
sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in late September.
"We sense, today, how important such meetings are. Our meeting before
the UN session is possible, as well," Nalbandian said.
Mammadyarov and Nalbandian first had a one-on-one meeting at the
Russian foreign minister`s residence, followed by broad discussions
during a meeting attended by the co-chairs of the mediating OSCE Minsk
Group (MG). The members of the Minsk Group had held discussions in
the Russian capital prior to Thursday`s meeting of foreign ministers.
Meanwhile, Novruz Mammadov, head of the Azerbaijan President`s Office
international relations department, called upon the MG co-chairs to
step up effort at finding a solution to the long-standing dispute.
Mammadov expressed disappointment that some of the demands put forward
by Baku were not met.
"The co-chairs either don`t understand us or simply don`t want to
do so," he told a local TV channel. "As diplomats or experts on
conflicts, we respect their work. But the co-chairs should justify
and assert themselves. It is useless just to pass time, come and go,
and prolong the matter."