EDWARD NALBANDIAN: "THE INFORMATION IS FALSE"

A1Plus.am
21/05/10

On May 21, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian had a meeting
with his Argentinean counterpart Jorge Taiana. The meeting was followed
by a joint press conference.

Minister Nalbandian today refuted Turkish media reports about a new
document negotiated by Armenia and Turkey.

"The information is false and is not worth being commented on,"
he said during the joint conference with the Argentinean FM.

The Armenian Minister also denied reports about discussions on
withdrawal of NKR Defense troops from Kelbajar and Lachin.

Asked how the Armenian FM refers to President Medvedev’s statement
in Turkey that Russia will contribute to the Karabakh conflict
settlement, the Armenian FM said, "As a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk
Group, Russia is contributing to the settlement to the Karabakh
conflict. In terms of the constructive position, it doesn’t matter
where and when the statement was made. You know that Russian President,
who initiated a range of meetings between Armenian and Azerbaijani
presidents, significantly contributes to the efforts of the Minsk
Group Co-Chairs. And it’s natural for Russian President to express
his readiness to continue efforts towards the process of the conflict
settlement.

Asked to comment on the resolution on the South Caucasus adopted by
the European Parliament yesterday, Minister Nalbandian said: "First of
all, I would like to express our respect for the European Parliament.

However, the points on the Karabakh issue do not go in line with the
Madrid Principles, the L’Aquila Statement or the Moscow Declaration
the document refers to."

"There is an obvious confusion here, and one of the reasons is that
the author of the report has never been to Karabakh and has not even
consulted with the members of the European Union. That is why some of
the points contradict even the position of the European Union. The
European Union expressed its stance in a statement issued in Athens
in December 2009, which is fully in line with the Armenian position."