Expert: Armenian government does not want to involve Stepanakert in
Nagorno Karabakh negotiation process
16:37 05/25/2007
The Armenian government does not want to involve Nagorno Karabakh
representatives in the negotiation process, Caucasus Analytical Center
expert, former advisor of the Nagorno Karabakh president, Manvel
Sarkisyan said at a news conference today. As a REGNUM correspondent
reports, Sarkisyan called inappropriate and `being beneath criticism’
statements made by Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan that
Armenia’s single participation in the talks was a kind of concession,
as otherwise the Azerbaijani side would have refused to participate in
the talks at all.
`The talks could have been suspended for a year or two, but sooner or
later, Azerbaijan would have to sit to the negotiation table,’ the
expert said. He reminded that in 1994 there was experience of talks
between Baku and Stepanakert. Speaking on necessity to involve Nagorno
Karabakh in the negotiation process, he noted that in the talks
between Armenia and Azerbaijan the question is treated in the context
of territorial claims, while if Stepanakert becomes involved in the
process the issues would have been discussed from a different point of
view. Commenting on the statement made by OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs
that Nagorno Karabakh must be involved in the process, he noted that
such discussion was started long ago and it was reiterated that `at
some stage’ it would be necessary to do it. Generally, according to
the expert, the recent Bernard Fassier and Yuri Merzlyakov’s visit has
shown clearly a fr5ivolous approach to the issue. `It became clear
that the question would not be settled soon, but, probably, it is for
the better,’ the analyst concluded.