ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA: WE HAVE DEVELOPED THE IDEA TO ORGANIZE ONE MORE VISIT TO NAGORNO KARABAKH WITH POLAD BUL BUL OGHLU IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE PREVIOUS ONE

Today.Az
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June 2 2009
Azerbaijan

Ambassador of Armenia to Russia Armen Smbatian responded to
questions related to information about the forthcoming joint visit
of the representatives of Armenian and Azerbaijani community in
Nagorno-Karabakh.

When asked about information that he, together with the Ambassador of
Azerbaijan to Russia Polad Bul-Bul oglu are going to organize a visit
of representatives of the two countries to Armenia, self-declared
Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, Armen Smbyatyan said: "We have
developed the idea to organize one more visit to Nagorno Karabakh
with Polad Bul Bul oghlu immediately after the previous one, as we
(hopefully, not only we) felt the need for such contacts – in the
end of the trip there appeared a small sign, bringing the two nations
closer.

For the first time, in conditions of negative information constantly
renewed and purposefully addressed to the public, there appear a
positive line of possible cooperation. I want to emphasize that these
visits are not intended to replace the negotiating process. As before,
we are for negotiations between heads of states within the OSCE Minsk
Group. However, I consider it appropriate for the representatives
of various sectors of our society to continue to communicate with
each other".

Asked about the reason of a long interval between a previous and
a planned visit and the reason for certain "secrecy" around the new
trip, he replied as follows:

"Since 2007, our countries have recorded significant political
developments, in view of which the new tour was postponed. Now,
in my opinion, there has been created a congenial atmosphere for
the visit. The absence of advance information, which you called a
"mystery" is caused not only by the usual diplomatic practice,
but a special sensitivity of the issue. It lies in a mechanism of
coordination and organization of a trip, as this raises many issues,
both political and ethno-psychological, social and ethno-cultural ones.

If the information on this trip is presented ahead of time or will
be made incorrectly, the interests of participants of the event will
be affected in such a way that it will simply be frustrated. This is
unacceptable, especially because today in conditions of a certain
decrease in the level of effectiveness of other contacts between
Azerbaijan and Armenia, it is vitally important to develop the contacts
between the representatives of our public.

Believe me, there will always be forces that neglecting the interests
of peoples and nations because of thoughtlessness or mercantile
personal motives, would be happy to derail the process. In this
connection I urge the media, as well as representatives of "reliable
sources" to be very responsible to each statement and information on
the subject".