Interfax - Russia & CIS General Newswire
December 15, 2017 Friday 1:07 PM MSK


Armenia, Azerbaijan not discussing Karabakh settlement details - Sargsyan

YEREVAN. Dec 15

Armenia and Azerbaijan have not been discussing the technicalities of
the Karabakh settlement process at their meetings over the past two
years, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said in an interview on the
television channel Armenia on Thursday.

"The negotiations do not address practical issues, but this is only
natural, considering the events of the past two years. It is necessary
to de-escalate tension and create investigative mechanisms before
looking at the documents' intricacies," Sargsyan said.

It is impossible "to negotiate on the one hand, while shooting, on the
other," he said.

"There should be no shooting during talks, as such events make
consensus impossible. Gunfire is always a hindrance," Sargsyan said.

The contact line should be quiet, Sargsyan said. "There should be no
casualties. The ongoing hunt for people should stop. That will create
a certain atmosphere and build trust," he said.

He added that no Azerbaijani acts of sabotage are allowed to happen on
the contact line.

"Armenia has put in place special programs which rule out sabotage and
other hostile activity on the contact line. Special equipment does not
allow acts of sabotage to happen. Azerbaijan made several attempts at
sabotaging but suffered heavy casualties and failed. I'd rather not go
into detail, but I assure you that we have concrete programs, which
will rule out other kinds of hostile activity," Sargsyan said.

As to whether Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had proposed
anything new for the Karabakh settlement process during his recent
visit to the region, Sargsyan said, "The Armenian-Russian agenda is so
packed that we go beyond the Karabakh problem during visits of
high-ranking officials."

"Lavrov said all he had to say about Karabakh at his press conference.
He is sure that the OSCE Minsk Group can resolve the conflict; this
opportunity is provided by the principles proposed," he said.