EDWARD NALBANDIAN: GOOD PRECONDITIONS EXIST TODAY FOR SOLVING THE KARABAKH ISSUE
armradio.am
19.09.2008 10:33
RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian responded to the questions of
"Arminfo" agency. The full text of the interview is presented below.
Q.: Mr. Minister, according to the information disseminated by Azeri
media, US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza declared
in Baku that Turkey can have its contribution to the process of
the Karabakh conflict settlement and help Armenia demonstrate more
flexible position. What’s your opinion about this view?
A.: If we believe in the citations of Azerbaijani media, then most
probably Mr. Bryza incorrectly used the word Armenia instead of
Azerbaijan, since Turkey can use its influence for making Azerbaijan’s
position more flexible, deriving from the reality that Azerbaijani
leaders have many times described the relations between Azerbaijan
and Turkey as "one nation – two states."
Q.: Does the information about the meetings of Armenian and Turkish
diplomats in Switzerland correspond to reality?
A.: There have always been contacts between Armenian and Turkish
diplomats and there is nothing extraordinary in these meetings.
Q.: There are talks about the three-way meeting between the Foreign
Ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. Will you confirm the
information?
A.: As early as September 7 in Yerevan we arranged with the=2 0Turkish
Foreign Minister to meet in New York on the sidelines of the 63rd
session of the UN General Assembly. Mr. Babacan suggested to organize
another meeting in a trilateral format. I do not mind organizing such
a meeting.
Q.: The talks about the change of the OSCE Minsk Group are rather
active today. To what extent are there grounded?
A.: The Minsk Group is the acting format of resolving the Karabakh
conflict, which enjoys the support of the international community. The
negotiations continue on the basis of eth proposals of the OSCE Minsk
Group Co-Chairs. I think that today good preconditions exist for the
resolution of the issue, which can open new opportunities for regional
cooperation for all countries.
Q.: According to Turkish media, some document is going to be signed
during your meeting with Ali Babacan in New York. What would you say
about the authenticity of this information?
A.: Upon the instruction of the Presidents of Armenia and Turkey, as a
result of the talks with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Babacn we declared
about our resoluteness to fully normalize the bilateral relations and
we are trying to make steps in this direction. I hope we will move
along that way without creating artificial obstacles fro each other.