KARABAKH CONFLICT RESOLUTION NOT LIKELY SOON

PanARMENIAN.Net
17.11.2008 15:19 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The sides in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict are
observing the ceasefire, an agreement not sufficient to tune the
publics both in Azerbaijan and Armenia to peace, Bernard Fassier,
the French Co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, told a news conference
in Yerevan today.

"The parties to conflict are at the initial stage of the settlement
process," he said.

According to Russian mediator Yuri Merzlyakov the borders should be
defined while deciding on Karabakh’s status. "There are borders of the
NKAO, NKAO and Shahumyan region and, finally, the current borders. We
should proceed from the reality," he said, adding that the conflict
is not likely to be resolved soon.

"The Minsk Group has been working since 1992. There was a possibility
to arrive at an agreement in 1997, 1998 and 2001. In 2005 we fixed
the base principles. However, their coordination can take years,"
the Russian mediator said.

He also informed that the next meeting between the Foreign Ministers
of Armenia and Azerbaijan will take place in Helsinki during regular
summit of OSCE Foreign Ministers on December 4.

"We will work for a presidential meeting but can’t announce the exact
date," Ambassador Merzlyakov said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress