AZERBAIJAN READY TO DISCUSS GRANTING ‘SPECIAL’ STATUS TO NAGORNO-KARABAKH
ARMENPRESS
Dec 10 2007
BAKU, DECEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS: A deputy foreign minister of Azerbaijan
said today Armenian and Azerbaijani diplomats may discuss the issue
of granting Nagorno-Karabakh a special status when they meet for the
next round of talks on the peaceful settlement of their dispute.
Deputy foreign minister Araz Azimov said journalists in Baku that
before starting discussions on the issue the Armenian and Azeri
communities of Nagorno-Karabakh should establish normal relations.
But he argued that to launch such a dialogue Armenian troops must be
pulled out from seven regions surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, security
must be enforced for all, infrastructures and rule of Azerbaijani
law over these regions must be restored.
"Azerbaijan stands for peaceful settlement of the conflict, but if
international organizations’ efforts fail to produce any result,
Azerbaijan reserves the right to resort to other means to liberate
its lands," he was quoted by Trend news agency as saying.
Asked to comment on the OSCE Minsk Group’s latest proposals for the
peaceful settlement of the confluent Azimov said before Baku voices
its response to them they should be examined carefully.
"The cochairmen’s proposals are their personal opinion, which may
not coincide with Azerbaijan’s national interests," he said.
In a related news the U.S. cochairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Mathew
Bryza, told Azerbaijani ANS TV that he and two other cochairmen
from Russia and France expect Armenian and Azeri leaders to approve
a package of basic principles for the peaceful settlement of the
conflict, which were handed to Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers
in Madrid.
"We hope that presidents Robert Kocharian and Ilham Aliyev will give
their approval of the principles within next two months and will
agree to continue the negotiations,’ he said.