VAHRAM ATANESSYAN: MEDIATORS MUST BE HONEST WITH CONFLICTING PARTIES

arminfo
2008-08-11 12:59:00

ArmInfo. Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is ready to join in the negotiating
process and to undertake its share of responsibility for peace,
stability and further cooperation between the two nations, the
chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations of the National
Assembly of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Vahram Atanessyan said during
a press-conference today.

Atanessyan said that both the conflicting parties and the mediators
believed that the last meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia and
Azerbaijan was constructive. He pointed out that, unlike the restrained
joint statement by the OSCE MG co-chairs, in an interview to Interfax
the US co-chair Matthew Bryza expressed his personal opinion, which has
received wide response in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. In
that interview Bryza said that Nagorno-Karabakh would decide itself
if to be part of Azerbaijan or to be independent. But in his later
interview to the BBC office in Azerbaijan he tried to correct his
earlier statement by means of vague diplomatic wordings.

Atanessyn believes that the mediators must be honest with the
conflicting parties and must inform the public about the proposals
that are presently on the negotiating table. "Any proposals coming
from the internal political situation in one of the conflicting
states are inadmissible. When giving an interview to BBC office
in Baku Bryza was trying to avoid escalating the internal political
situation in Azerbaijan before the forthcoming presidential election,"
Atannessyan said.

It may seem that Nagorno-Karabakh has already given its consent to
some future referendum. But in fact it has not.

NKR has repeatedly said that it will show interest in elimination of
the consequences of the armed stage of the Nagorno Karabakh-Azeri
conflict if Azerbaijan shows interest in recognition of
Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence.

Since the establishment of cease-fire in 1994 Nagorno-Karabakh
has been a full party to the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and is
responsible for the balance of forces in the region. This balance
cannot be changed without consideration of the national interests of
Nagorno-Karabakh. And the national priority of NKR is international
recognition of its de facto independence. All other issues can be
discussed in this context only.