ARMENIAN LAWMAKER HIGHLY APPRAISES ARMENIAN DIPLOMACY IN SETTLEMENT OF KARABAKH CONFLICT

/ARKA/
July 17, 2009
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, July 18. /ARKA/. Aram Safaryan, the secretary of Prosperous
Armenia Party’s faction in National Assembly, thinks Armenian diplomacy
doesn’t lose in settlement of Karabakh conflict.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, the lawmaker said that some
Armenian media outlets are permanently using Azerbaijani sources to
show weakness of Armenian diplomats.

He pointed out that Armenian Foreign Ministry is working out its
foreign policy concept, which will have a favorable impact on the
settlement.

Earlier, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan said
that the concept would be unveiled for public discussions.

Karabakh conflict broke out in 1988 when Artsakh, mainly populated
by Armenians, declared its independence from Azerbaijan.

On December 10, 1991, a few days after the collapse of the Soviet
Union, a referendum took place in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the majority
of the population (99.89%) voted for secession from Azerbaijan.

Afterwards, large-scale military operations began. As a result,
Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven regions
adjacent to it.

On May 12, 1994 Bishkek cease-fire agreement, put an end to the
military operations.

Since 1992, negotiations over the peaceful settlement of the conflict
have been carried out under the OSCE Minsk Group’s mediation. The
group is co -chaired by USA, Russia and France.