NATIONAL SELF-DETERMINATION CRUCIAL THEME OF NEGOTIATIONS ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH
By A. Haroutiunian
AZG Armenian Daily
22/03/2007
During the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Armenia
on April 3-4 the main topic of discussion will be the bilateral
relations of the two states, said Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanian on a press conference at REGNUM agency’s hall.
According to the Foreign Minister, regional issues and the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are also to be discussed.
Commenting on the peace negotiations on Karabakh, Mr. Oskanian
said that there is still much to do until an agreement between the
conflict’s sides is signed. The last meeting of the Armenian and
Azeri foreign ministers indicated numerous contradictions between
the sides. Mr. Oskanian said that he cornerstone of the talks remains
the principle of national self-determination of the people of Karabakh.
Mr. Oskanian said he is authorized to state that mentioning Karabakh
in the US Department of State Human Rights Report as an "occupied
territory" is a mistake, and the US authorities will do the best to
correct it.
Referring to the inner political situation in Armenia, the Foreign
Minister emphasized holding fair democratic elections. He said that
the coming parliamentary elections will be a testimony for Armenia,
and failing it would have extremely negative consequences.