Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Oct 29 2008

ARMENIAN FM CLAIMS AZERBAIJAN BACKING DOWN FROM WAR

Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian has claimed the August
hostilities in Georgias unrecognized republic of South Ossetia have
held back Azerbaijans attempts to settle the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper
(Nagorno) Garabagh conflict by force. Nalbandian told the BBCs Russian
bureau that the brief Russia-Georgia war was allegedly a cold shower
for Azerbaijani leaders. They halted their militarist rhetoric and
statements on a possible resolution of the Garabagh problem through
military action. If it werent for the South Ossetia developments,
Azerbaijan, which is openly preparing for war, could have tried to
solve the Garabagh problem through military action, Nalbandian
alleged. The Armenian minister noted that political and diplomatic
talks were the sole option to settle the conflict. He said military
operations lead not to the solution of outstanding problems but, on
the contrary, to the emergence of new conflicts, which are even harder
to settle afterwards. No military option could lead to a solution, as
after any given war or such a decision, diplomats have to launch talks
in any case. But this time, in more challenging conditions, Nalbandian
said.