ARMINFO News Agency
September 29, 2006 Friday
POSTPONEMENT OF MEETING WITH AZERI FM DOES NOT MEAN THAT ARMENIA
REFUSED TO CONTINUE TALKS: ARMENIAN FM
Karabakh’s participation in the talks is always on agenda and we are
waiting for the moment it becomes compulsory, Armenian Foreign
Minister Vardan Oskanyan said during a press-conference today.
If the UN approves the GUAM resolution, Karabakh’s participation will
become a condition and Armenia will make way for Karabakh in the
negotiating process. It does not mean that Armenia will leave the
process, simply Karabakh’s participation will become necessary.
Concerning the postponed meeting with the Azeri FM, Oskanyan said
that the FM meetings are not an end in itself, such meetings follow
specific goals. He said that a week before the meeting GUAM appeared
with its initiative to discuss the problem of frozen conflicts in the
UN General Assembly. The situation changed and it was not expedient
to meet until it was specified. The meeting was put off, nobody
refused to meet. Simply, we needed to consider the new situation and
for this purpose I met with the co-chairs, Oskanyan said.
Armenia did not refuse to continue the talks. We could not do it as
it is exactly we who support the document lying on the negotiating
table. Although we have repeatedly said that the document is not
ideal it is the lesser of two evils. I think it is actually a way
towards settlement, Oskanyan said.
Commenting on the statement of Armenian President Robert Kocharyan
that Armenia and Karabakh may form a federation, Oskanyan said that
Armenia will not just sit by if Azerbaijan refuses to continue the
talks or goes on thinking about solving the Karabakh problem by war.
Karabakh’s independence is priority for Armenia and if it sees that
Azerbaijan has decided to solve the problem by war, it will stop at
nothing and will do its best to ensure the security of the Karabakh
people. So, Kocharyan’s statement should be considered in his
context.