NAGORNO-KARABAKH PEACE PROCESS HAS REAL PROSPECTS, OSCE MG CO-CHAIR STATES

ARKA
March 5, 2009

YEREVAN, March 5. /ARKA/. Bernard Fassier, French Co-Chairman of the
OSCE Minsk Group for the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, believes the
OSCE MG Co-Chairmen’s meetings held during their regional visit to
have been full of content.

This is evidence of the negotiations having prospects, Fassier told
a press conference in Yerevan.

He pointed out that the OSCE MG Co-Chairmen, who arrived in the region
last week, visited Baku, where they met with Azerbaijani President
Ilkham Aliyev.

Fassier also reported that, during their visit to Stepanakert, the
Co-Chairmen held a long meeting with president of the Nagorno-Karabakh
President Bako Sahakyan, as well as with representatives of about 20
NGOs, including the ones dealing with refugee problems.

Fassier also reported that the Co-Chairs held a number of meetings
with RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan and a long-lasting meeting
with RA President Serge Sargsyan.

After their visit to Yerevan the OSCE MG Co-Chairmen went to Baku to
hold meetings with the Azerbaijani president and Foreign Minister.

The French diplomat pointed out that the Co-Chair’s visit to the
region overlaps a period of special importance, namely, a period
after the Armenian-Azerbaijani president meeting in Zurich.

Fassier pointed out that each of the Presidents considers the meeting
as a positive and constructive one. He sai d that the aforementioned
positive factors are marred by a negative one, namely, documents
condemning Armenia’s position, which are circulating within the UN.

Last year, by the instructions of the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister,
two documents were submitted to the UN Secretary General: Report on the
legal consequences of the armed aggression by the Republic of Armenia
against the Republic of Azerbaijan and On basic norm of territorial
integrity of states and on the right for self-determination in the
light of Armenia’s revisionist claims.

On the other hand, Fassier pointed out that nothing special concerning
Armenia was adopted.

On May 12, 1994, a cease-fire agreement was signed between the Armenian
and Azerbaijani sides.