Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Paper says Armenian officials "nervous" ahead of next Karabakh talks

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Paper says Armenian officials "nervous" ahead of next Karabakh talks

    Paper says Armenian officials "nervous" ahead of next Karabakh talks

    Aykakan Zhamanak, Yerevan
    27 May 06

    Excerpt from Anna Akopyan report by Armenian newspaper Aykakan
    Zhamanak on 27 May "To sign or not to sign"

    It has become known from reliable sources that the OSCE Minsk Group
    co-chairs expect [Presidents] Robert Kocharyan and Ilham Aliyev to
    sign a document on the Karabakh settlement during their meeting in
    Bucharest on 4-6 June. All the developments of the last one month and
    a half prove that in Bucharest the world community will force the two
    presidents either to sign a peace agreement or an intermediary
    agreement.

    [Passage omitted: more of the same]

    No doubt unlike before the USA would like to see the Karabakh conflict
    solved.

    No doubt that Russia is not secretly fighting against the settlement
    initiatives. The participation of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister
    Grigoriy Karasin in the recent trip by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs
    to the region showed that Russia will not be against Kocharyan and
    Aliyev signing the peace agreement in Bucharest. But is that really
    going to happen?

    Let us note that Azerbaijan sent positive "messages" in this regard
    yesterday. In particular, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
    Mammadyarov, who is used to making harsh statements, changed his style
    yesterday. He spoke about the need to reach a compromise and finally
    specify the status of Karabakh. He even spoke about the NKR
    constitution.

    [Passage omitted: some excerpts from Mammadyarov's statement,
    speculates on reasons for such a change]

    Unlike the Azerbaijani leaders, their Armenian counterparts have not
    been spreading any kind of "messages" or assessments. The most recent
    statement by the Armenian side was made by the press secretary for the
    Foreign Ministry that "agreement can be reached only if Azerbaijan
    recognizes the right of the Karabakh people to
    self-determination". And if we accept that the Nagornyy Karabakh
    Republic's intermediary high status is the same as the right to
    self-determination, and on the other hand to accept that speaking
    about the constitution Mammadyarov meant just this intermediary high
    status, it turns out that the document may be signed.

    But unlike before it is now difficult to answer the question as to
    whether Robert Kocharyan and Ilham Aliyev will sign the document. We
    can only note that, according to our information, appropriate
    officials of Armenia are feeling rather tense and nervous ahead of
    their Bucharest visit.
Working...
X