US OFFICIAL DENIES ARMENIAN-AZERI TALKS REACHED STALEMATE
Mediamax news agency
16 Mar 06
Yerevan, 16 March: US Assistant Secretary of State for European and
Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried has denied that the negotiation process
on the Karabakh settlement “has reached a stalemate”.
“Based on our meetings with the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents,
we can say with confidence that the talks will be continued,” the
US assistant secretary of state said in Yerevan today. Daniel Fried
also noted that both sides continued to “firmly pursue their national
interests”.
The US assistant secretary of state stressed that prior to his visit
to the region he and the US co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group,
Steven Mann, had met the Russian and French co-chairmen and got their
“full support”. Daniel Fried denied reports that there were allegedly
disagreements between the mediators.
Steven Mann, for his part, said that the Armenian and Azerbaijani
presidents “show interest in progress” and “the USA is ready to
provide every support to them”.