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THE CO-CHAIRS WILL TRY TO COME OUT OF THE BLIND ALLEY
Tatul Hakobyan
"Radiolur"[Arm Radio]
20.03.2006 16:17
OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Yuri Merzlyakov, Steven Mann and Bernard
Fassier are having today their recurrent meeting in Istanbul. RA
Foreign Minister has remarked in his interview to the Second Armenian
TV Channel that after the failure in Ramboulliet the settlement
process is actually found itself in a blind alley. After the meeting in
Istanbul it will become clear what route the negotiations will take,
when the Co-Chairs will visit the region and whether the meetings of
Foreign Ministers will continue.
After the failure in Ramboulliet the US and France have not lost the
expectations regarding the future of the settlement, to more exact,
the signing at least an intermittent agreement this year. And this is
natural, since this was with the mediation of these countries that
Presidents Robert Kocharyan and Ilham Aliev left for the castle of
Ramboulliet. The third mediator, Russia, which continues to remain
the major role player in the Caucasus region, did not have serious
expectations from the very beginning and did not consider that the
leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan would be able to find the "key to
the resolution" in Ramboulliet.
RA Foreign Minister actually accepts that the talks have entered
a blind alley. Following his meeting with the Assistant to the
US Secretary of State and the American Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk
Group Vardan Oskanyan said in his TV interview, "After the failure
in Ramboulliet, it is important to maintain the positive achievements
and continue the talks based on these. Our further steps will become
clear after the upcoming meeting of the Co-Chairs. The basis of our
today's talks is the search for solutions, which will allow to come
out of the blind alley."
However, the American side has not lost the optimism. The Assistant to
the US Secretary of State Daniel Fried and the American Co-Chair of
the Minsk Group Steven Mann confirmed this in their press conference
on Thursday that there is no blind alley.
Kiro Manoyan, Head of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)
Bureau's Hay Dat and Political Affairs Office told "Regnum" agency,
"There is an impression that through Turkey the mediators are trying
to exercise pressure over Azerbaijan. It is Baku's fault that the
meeting of the Presidents failed. The Azerbaijani side refused from
the obligations undertaken. I think that the decision of holding the
meeting of mediators in Istanbul is not accidental.
According to Vazgen Manukyan, Head of the National Democratic Union,
the decision to hold the meeting of the Co-Chairs in Istanbul has a
pretext, which is psychological rather than political.
Yesterday the Assistant to the US Secretary of State Daniel Fried
and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Steven Mann met with Turkish
authorities. The Turkish "Zaman" newspaper informs that the government
of Turkey gave a negative answer to the demand of the US to open
the border with Armenia. Fried and Mann met with representatives of
the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to "Zaman," Fried
presented an official demand to open the border with Armenia. Turkish
officials, however, mentioned three preconditions for establishing
diplomatic relations with Armenia - withdrawal of Armenian forces from
Azerbaijan, suspension of the campaign for international recognition
of the Armenian Genocide, as well as refusal from territorial demands
on Turkey.
Tatul Hakobyan
"Radiolur"[Arm Radio]
20.03.2006 16:17
OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Yuri Merzlyakov, Steven Mann and Bernard
Fassier are having today their recurrent meeting in Istanbul. RA
Foreign Minister has remarked in his interview to the Second Armenian
TV Channel that after the failure in Ramboulliet the settlement
process is actually found itself in a blind alley. After the meeting in
Istanbul it will become clear what route the negotiations will take,
when the Co-Chairs will visit the region and whether the meetings of
Foreign Ministers will continue.
After the failure in Ramboulliet the US and France have not lost the
expectations regarding the future of the settlement, to more exact,
the signing at least an intermittent agreement this year. And this is
natural, since this was with the mediation of these countries that
Presidents Robert Kocharyan and Ilham Aliev left for the castle of
Ramboulliet. The third mediator, Russia, which continues to remain
the major role player in the Caucasus region, did not have serious
expectations from the very beginning and did not consider that the
leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan would be able to find the "key to
the resolution" in Ramboulliet.
RA Foreign Minister actually accepts that the talks have entered
a blind alley. Following his meeting with the Assistant to the
US Secretary of State and the American Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk
Group Vardan Oskanyan said in his TV interview, "After the failure
in Ramboulliet, it is important to maintain the positive achievements
and continue the talks based on these. Our further steps will become
clear after the upcoming meeting of the Co-Chairs. The basis of our
today's talks is the search for solutions, which will allow to come
out of the blind alley."
However, the American side has not lost the optimism. The Assistant to
the US Secretary of State Daniel Fried and the American Co-Chair of
the Minsk Group Steven Mann confirmed this in their press conference
on Thursday that there is no blind alley.
Kiro Manoyan, Head of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)
Bureau's Hay Dat and Political Affairs Office told "Regnum" agency,
"There is an impression that through Turkey the mediators are trying
to exercise pressure over Azerbaijan. It is Baku's fault that the
meeting of the Presidents failed. The Azerbaijani side refused from
the obligations undertaken. I think that the decision of holding the
meeting of mediators in Istanbul is not accidental.
According to Vazgen Manukyan, Head of the National Democratic Union,
the decision to hold the meeting of the Co-Chairs in Istanbul has a
pretext, which is psychological rather than political.
Yesterday the Assistant to the US Secretary of State Daniel Fried
and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Steven Mann met with Turkish
authorities. The Turkish "Zaman" newspaper informs that the government
of Turkey gave a negative answer to the demand of the US to open
the border with Armenia. Fried and Mann met with representatives of
the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to "Zaman," Fried
presented an official demand to open the border with Armenia. Turkish
officials, however, mentioned three preconditions for establishing
diplomatic relations with Armenia - withdrawal of Armenian forces from
Azerbaijan, suspension of the campaign for international recognition
of the Armenian Genocide, as well as refusal from territorial demands
on Turkey.