RUSSIAN MEDIATOR SAYS MEETING WITH KARABAKH SEPARATIST LEADER "CONSTRUCTIVE"

Mediamax
Nov 17 2008
Armenia

Yerevan, 17 November: Russian co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group [which
mediates a solution to Nagornyy Karabakh conflict] Yuriy Merzlyakov
stated that the basic principles of Karabakh settlement, proposed in
Madrid, "open up additional opportunities for us to act within the
provisions of Moscow Declaration, signed by the three presidents"
[Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian, on 2 November].

Mediamax reports that the Russian mediator said this on 15 November
in Stepanakert [Xankandi, Karabakh capital]. According to him, no
one is going to artificially delay the process, and in the nearest
future the meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers
is expected to take place. "We hope that we will manage to organize
another meeting of the presidents as well," Yuriy Merzlyakov stated.

In their turn, the French and US co-chairs of OSCE Minsk Group Bernard
Fassier and Matthew Bryza spoke for the necessity to step by step
consolidate trust among the sides of the conflict, describing it as
an important vector of their work.

Commenting on the meeting of the mediators of with NKR [Nagornyy
Karabakh republic] president Bako Sahakyan, Yuriy Merzlyakov
described it as "very substantial and constructive", informing that
NKR president "gave the most positive assessment to the Declaration,
signed in Moscow".