ARMENIA PROPOSES PEACE DEAL WITH AZERBAIJAN

Interfax
March 22 2010
Russia

*** Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has proposed that Armenia
and Azerbaijan sign an agreement to avoid use of force. "I wish to
take this opportunity to address Azerbaijan through television in
order to appeal for signing an agreement on the non-use of force,"
the presidential service quoted Sargsyan as saying in an interview
with Euronews television.

"This would lay foundations for confidence in Armenia and Karabakh
itself and would give people the message that Azerbaijan holds a
position of peaceful resolution in the conflict. It is after that
that we might work on details," the president said.

He said the world community proposes three principles to underlie
a Nagorno-Karabakh settlement – self-determination, territorial
integrity and non-use of force.

"It is obvious that we, Armenians, are much more interested in
having the conflict resolved, but we need a long-term resolution,
which involves restoring peace and security in the region and not
just giving Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan as a present, which would
mean that Karabakh had ceased to exist," Sargsyan said.