Armenian FM confirms intention of Armenian party to work on negotiating
document on basic principles of Karabakh conflict settlement
Arminfo
2007-05-12 10:33:00
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan confirmed the intention of
the Armenian party to work on the
negotiating document on basic principles of settlement of Karabakh
conflict. The minister made this statement speaking at the 117th
Session of the Committee of Ministers in Strasbourg, yesterday,
Armenian Foreign Ministry press-service told ArmInfo.
"There is of course, one commitment left which we made together with
Azerbaijan, when we entered this organization – that we would achieve a
peaceful, lasting resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Judging
purely from the content of the negotiating document and the nature of
the principles included there, and the progress we’ve made on that
document, we have hope that an agreement is possible. A major part of
the progress comes from the fact that all involved have come to
acknowledge and agree that at the end of the day, it’s the people of
Nagorno Karabakh which should determine their future status through a
referendum, and through the exercise of their right to
self-determination.
But there are some factors which dampen our optimism. First, I worry
that the content and spirit of the negotiations are not matched by the
public statements that are regularly heard from the Azerbaijani
leadership. Second, the endless Azerbaijani references to a possible
military solution are counterproductive, not to say dangerous. Third,
Azerbaijan’s actions do little to bolster confidence. On the contrary,
intentional violence such as the organized destruction of Armenian
cross stones in the Nakhijevan region of Azerbaijan serve to further
sow distrust between our peoples.
Still, this is a basic document on principles that is a balanced, fair
set of tradeoffs and we will continue to work on it," the minister said
in his speech.