EDWARD NALBANDIAN: THE PARTIES WERE CLOSE TO KARABAKH SOLUTION IN 2001

armradio.am
13.05.2009 16:15

On May 12 the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian,
participated in the 119th session of the Committee of Ministers of the
Council of Europe held in the framework of the arrangements dedicated
to the 60th anniversary of the Council of Europe. Representatives of
47 CoE member states, 5 observer countries and high-level delegations
from international organizations, Presidents of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human
Rights participated in the sitting.

The agenda of the sitting included issues connected with different
spheres Council of Europe activity.

In his speech Minister Nalbandian emphasized the role of the Council of
Europe in building a stable and peaceful continent. Referring to the
process of settlement of the Artsakh issue, the Foreign Minister said
the legal demand of self-determination was an issue of security, while
Azerbaijan responded to this with ethnic cleansing and large-scale
aggression against Nagorno Karabakh.

Minister Nalbandian said the parties were rather close to a solution
in 2001. "However, it did not happen because of the non-constructive
position of Azerbaijan and its refusal from the agreements reached,"
the Minister said.

Assessing the meetings of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents,
the declarations and statements adopted in Moscow and Helsinki
in 2008 as signs of progress in the negotiation process, Edward
Nalbandian expressed hope that the talks within the framework of
the Minsk Group could bring the positions of the parties closer and
result in the resolution of the issue, if Azerbaijan refused from
its non-constructive approach and stopped the militant rhetoric and
the anti-Armenian propaganda.