WPS Agency, Russia
June 5 2009

KARABAKH ON THE NEVA RIVER

by Natalia Portyakova, Natalia Kostenko

MEDVEDEV MANAGED TO ARRANGE NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN PRESIDENTS OF ARMENIA
AND AZERBAIJAN; Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan discussed
Nagorno-Karabakh in St.Petersburg.

Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan Serj Sargsjan and Ilham Aliyev
discussed Karabakh, yesterday. Their meeting lasted almost 2.5
hours. It took place within the framework of the St.Petersburg
International Economic Forum at first and continued in the presence of
OSCE Minsk Group chairmen. Later that night, these two leaders met
with President Dmitry Medvedev separately.

Yerevan and Baku continue their efforts to solve the problem of
Nagorno-Karabakh, Sargsjan told journalists when his meeting with
Aliyev was finally over. "We keep looking for ways and means to ensure
safety of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh on its ancestral land and its
right to determine its own future," he added. Aliyev declined comment.

The meeting in St.Petersburg became the fifth round of the
Azerbaijani-Armenian negotiations. The first round had taken place in
St.Petersburg a year ago when Medvedev’s peace-making efforts resulted
in the so called Meindorf Declaration (November 2008). Both parties
confirmed their allegiance to a political settlement and readiness to
activate the talks.

A Presidential Administration official told this newspaper before the
meeting in St.Petersburg that expecting any breakthroughs from it was
no use. What really counted was that the parties were ready to
continue the dialogue encouraged by Moscow, he said.

"No, we do not aspire to any new agreements or any discussion of the
problem in detail at this point," Presidential Aide Sergei Prikhodko
explained.

Yerevan and Baku meanwhile uphold polar views on how to tackle the
problem of Nagorno-Karabakh. "The Armenians make an emphasis on the
right to self-determination, Azerbaijan on the principle of
territorial integrity," an Azerbaijani diplomat said.

Azerbaijan insists on the return of seven occupied districts to it and
return of refugees to their homes before the dialogue itself over the
status of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia says that the order should be
reversed: status first, all the rest afterwards.

"Any compromise with Baku will hurt Sargsjan himself," political
scientist Aleksei Vlasov observed. "On the other hand, Moscow cannot
afford to forsake its diplomatic efforts because the United States
will certainly try to win Azerbaijan and Armenia over otherwise."

"The United States have been actively brainwashing Turkey to open the
border with Armenia," Azerbaijani political scientist Ali Abasov
said. "Moscow does not want it happening, of course, because of the
risk to lose Armenia."

Source: Vedomosti, No 102, June 5, 2009, p. A2