Mediators expect political compromise on NK’s final status

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
April 5 2008

MEDIATORS EXPECT POLITICAL COMPROMISE ON KARABAKH’S FINAL STATUS

YEREVAN, 04.04.08. DE FACTO. The OSCE Minsk group Co-Chairs
circulated a joint statement in Bucharest. According to the document,
April 2-4, within the NATO summit frames, the MG Co-Chairs Bernard
Fassier (France), Matthew Bryza (the U. S.) and Yuri Merzlyakov
(Russia) held meetings with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and
the RA PM, Armenia’s President-Elect Serzh Sargsian with the
participation of FMs Elmar Mammadyarov and Vardan Oskanian.
The two leaders and the Co-Chairs exchanged views on searching the
ways for reducing dissensions between the parties and reaching a
consensus on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict basic principles.
The Co-Chairs expressed support to Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity
and again reaffirmed their stand, according to which the conflict’s
peaceful settlement will require political compromise in the issue
referring to the Nagorno-Karabakh’s final status, expecting future
approval by its population.
The Co-Chairs also underscored that the parties had agreed to
continue the talks on existing basis to verify the proposals on the
negotiating table. To achieve the goal the mediators consider it
necessary to hold a top level meeting in the shortest possible time.