YEREVAN TO UPGRADE STAND ON KARABAKH PROBLEM – PREMIER

Interfax
Dec 4 2008
Russia

Yerevan needs to upgrade its stand on the Karabakh problem, Prime
Minister Tigran Sargsyan told the national parliament.It is necessary
to upgrade the Armenian position on Karabakh. The Armenian Foreign
Ministry has received instructions to that effect.

There are certain problems, as comments of some officials are not
true occasionally. Thus, we need to update the Armenian official
policy on Karabakh, he said.

Fundamentals of the position will be presented to the Armenian
parliament next week, Sargsyan said.

Meanwhile, Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian and Azerbaijani
Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov discussed Karabakh settlement
in Helsinki.

The sides stressed the importance of the positive atmosphere formed by
the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in St. Petersburg on June 6 and
in Moscow on November 2 and further negotiations based on the Madrid
proposals and assisted by the cochairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group.

The negotiations aim to find points of contact and to resolve the
conflict peacefully, says a report of the Armenian Foreign Ministry
received by Interfax on Thursday.

OSCE Minsk Group Cochairmen Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia), Matthew Bryza
(the U.S.) and Bernard Fassier (France) attended the Helsinki meeting
of the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers.

Distorted comments coming from Azerbaijan and disregard of principles
spelled out by the Moscow declaration on Karabakh are damaging for
the efficiency of the negotiations, Nalbandian told OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly rapporteur on Karabakh Goran Lenmarker.

The latter confirmed the Assembly support to peaceful settlement of
the Karabakh conflict, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said.