VARTAN OSKANIAN RE-AFFIRMS THAT ARMENIA DOESN’T CONSIDER THE NEGOTIATION PROCESS FAILED
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Mar 13 2006
YEREVAN, MARCH 13, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. “It’s seems a bit
strange to us that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen’s regular sitting
will take place in Turkey,” Foreign Minister of Armenia Vartan Oskanian
stated in the March 10 interview to the “Shant” TV company. According
to him, the choice of Istanbul as a place of meeting was a suprise for
Armenia to some extent. At the same time, according to the Minister, it
isn’t excluded that the geographical convenience had a role here. It’s
envisaged that a day before the Istanbul meeting, Steven Mann, the
OSCE Minsk Group American Co-Chairman will arrive in Yerevan and
Baku. According to Vartan Oskanian, the latter will make an attempt
to get clearly know from the two countries’ Presidents their will in
the issue of continuing the process: “After this visit the Co-Chairmen
will decide the next steps: wheather to invite a Foreign Ministers’
meeting or to invite a Presidents’ meeting, or they three will visit
the region.” As for the Rambouillet meeting, in the Minister’s opinion,
a progress was really fixed in the issue of the Karabakh conflict
settlement in 2005: “There was an agreement on the majority of the main
principles, one-two other problems remained on which the Presidents
should come to an agreement, and the Co-Chairmen logically thought
that this inertia will continue: unfortunately, this didn’t happen.”
Vartan Oskanian re-affirmed that Armenia didn’t consider the
negotiation process failed: “It’s another issue that the issue on
agenda in Rambouillet was rather difficult, and the Presidents still
had no solution after having worked for a year. But taking into account
the present progress, we find that it would be a pity to miss such
an opportunity which certainly would be difficult to create again. In
Azerbaijan they also think in their hearts and souls that one mustn’t
miss this progress.”
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress