Interfax, Russia
Nov 12 2009
Belarusian leader urges Armenia, Azerbaijan to settle conflict without
mediators
Minsk, 11 November: Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka
believes that Armenia and Azerbaijan can resolve the problem of the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict by themselves, without pinning their hopes
on intermediaries.
"We realize how painful and important this problem is both for the
Armenian and Azeri peoples. This problem should be cut, and what is
the most important, this problem should be cut by the two presidents.
You should not hope for some intermediaries, though there is the Minsk
OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] group,"
Lukashenka has said in an interview with the Trend news agency
(Azerbaijan) [on 9 November].
"If we, Minsk, as the creation centre of this group, can do something
in this respect, if Belarusians can bring something positive to the
settlement of this dispute, we will do it with pleasure," the
Belarusian president said.
He stressed, however, that "the problem can be solved only by the two
presidents". "Maybe it is fine to involve others here. But then some
commitments will appear, an opinion of a third, fourth, fifth side
will have to be taken into account. Everyone will be trying to build
up politics on this and see themselves," Lukashenka noted.
"If I reason right, you should agree that the presidents of Armenia
and Azerbaijan can resolve the problem in the interests of people who
stayed there (in Nagornyy Karabakh). We support the process in the
sense of that the problem should be resolved by the two presidents,
two peoples," the Belarusian leader said.
Lukashenka said that he "discussed the issue as a friend with both the
former and incumbent presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia". "I have
not interfered in the subtleties which are abundant in the issue. We
have never used this problem in politics, we have never been friends
against anyone," Lukashenka said.