AZERBAIJAN SAYS NO ROLE FOR KARABAKH ARMENIANS IN TALKS AT PRESENT
Elkhan Polukhov

APA
Wed 27 January 2010 | 07:30 GMT

The involvement of the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh in the
talks process is out of the question, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry
has said.

"Armenian newspapers aim to calm the Armenian domestic audience when
they report that the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh will
join the negotiating process after the meeting of the Azerbaijani,
Russian and Armenian presidents in Sochi," Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry
spokesman Elkhan Polukhov told journalists yesterday.

He said that only the parties to the conflict – Armenia and Azerbaijan
– were participating in the negotiating process.

"Of course, the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh will join at
some stage of the negotiations, but it is out of the question at
present because it would be incorrect and unacceptable to involve
in the negotiating process a non-party to the conflict when the
principle of ‘Nothing will be agreed until everything is agreed’
is still applied."

The Armenian media reported that the preamble to a Karabakh settlement,
agreed by the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders in Sochi on Monday,
refers to the participation of Karabakh in future talks.