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KAZAN IS THE LAST CHANCE: ZAMAN
Tert.am
20.06.11
The meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents, Serzh
Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev, scheduled to be held in Kazan, Russia,
on June 25, is the last chance and the last hope for a peaceful
settlement of the Karabakh conflict, Fikret Ertan wrote in the Turkish
daily Zaman.
In his article titled "Armenian-Iranian relations and Kazan summit,"
Ertan speaks about the Armenian-Iranian relations, the reasons for the
delay of the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Armenia,
Teheran's stance on the Karabakh conflict settlement and the upcoming
meeting of the Armenian and Azeri presidents.
"The relations between our neighbors - Armenia and Iran- can be
characterized as strong, close and deep, and they are on a high level,"
Ertan writes. "To enhance those relations, the leaders of the both
countries pay visits to each other's country, meet eye to eye.
Recently, Iranian President Ahmadinejad was set to visit Armenia. But
the meeting was cancelled at a last minute; the reasons were not
entirely clear."
"Armenian president's press secretary Armen Arzumanyan said the visit
was delayed by a mutual agreement and will be rescheduled for a later
date," Ertan continues. "Ahmadinejad's press secretary Hasan Salihi in
turn said it was delayed because the documents supposed to be signed
with Armenia were not ready. It is not clear what documents he was
speaking about."
Ertan goes on writing that there are only speculations about the
topic of the documents.
"Armenian experts and analysts are not very happy about the Iranian
statements. Some of them think that Ahmadinejad - due to his domestic
problems - is not able to leave the country even for a moment. Others
think Yerevan has bought time to answer the questions that were to be
raised during Ahmadinejad's visit. It is unclear what those questions
were about. Some think they had to do with the Karabakh conflict.
Others say Iran is concerned about possible developments that could
follow the Kazan meeting, and has put forward conditions ahead of the
meeting," he goes on. "Speculations are that Iran is for maintaining
the status quo in Karabakh, believing that by scraping it, Iran may
lose its role in the region. Besides, Iran opposes the idea that
Western peacekeepers - supposedly including NATO and US troops -
be deployed in Nagorno Karabakh and adjacent territories. Iran has
repeatedly stated it did not want to see Western peacekeepers in
the region. In addition, it is seeking a broker's role between the
parties."
Speaking about the Kazan meeting between Sargsyan and Aliyev, Ertan
says it is the last opportunity to settle the conflict: "The Armenian
and Azerbaijani leaders are set to meet in Kazan on June 25 to discuss
the Karabakh conflict. The meeting is deemed as the last chance to
reach an agreement. Even Aliyev thinks so... But it is hard to predict
if any agreement could be reached over the basic principles. However,
the meetings is deemed as the last chance and the last hope for a
peaceful settlement of the conflict."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Tert.am
20.06.11
The meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents, Serzh
Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev, scheduled to be held in Kazan, Russia,
on June 25, is the last chance and the last hope for a peaceful
settlement of the Karabakh conflict, Fikret Ertan wrote in the Turkish
daily Zaman.
In his article titled "Armenian-Iranian relations and Kazan summit,"
Ertan speaks about the Armenian-Iranian relations, the reasons for the
delay of the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Armenia,
Teheran's stance on the Karabakh conflict settlement and the upcoming
meeting of the Armenian and Azeri presidents.
"The relations between our neighbors - Armenia and Iran- can be
characterized as strong, close and deep, and they are on a high level,"
Ertan writes. "To enhance those relations, the leaders of the both
countries pay visits to each other's country, meet eye to eye.
Recently, Iranian President Ahmadinejad was set to visit Armenia. But
the meeting was cancelled at a last minute; the reasons were not
entirely clear."
"Armenian president's press secretary Armen Arzumanyan said the visit
was delayed by a mutual agreement and will be rescheduled for a later
date," Ertan continues. "Ahmadinejad's press secretary Hasan Salihi in
turn said it was delayed because the documents supposed to be signed
with Armenia were not ready. It is not clear what documents he was
speaking about."
Ertan goes on writing that there are only speculations about the
topic of the documents.
"Armenian experts and analysts are not very happy about the Iranian
statements. Some of them think that Ahmadinejad - due to his domestic
problems - is not able to leave the country even for a moment. Others
think Yerevan has bought time to answer the questions that were to be
raised during Ahmadinejad's visit. It is unclear what those questions
were about. Some think they had to do with the Karabakh conflict.
Others say Iran is concerned about possible developments that could
follow the Kazan meeting, and has put forward conditions ahead of the
meeting," he goes on. "Speculations are that Iran is for maintaining
the status quo in Karabakh, believing that by scraping it, Iran may
lose its role in the region. Besides, Iran opposes the idea that
Western peacekeepers - supposedly including NATO and US troops -
be deployed in Nagorno Karabakh and adjacent territories. Iran has
repeatedly stated it did not want to see Western peacekeepers in
the region. In addition, it is seeking a broker's role between the
parties."
Speaking about the Kazan meeting between Sargsyan and Aliyev, Ertan
says it is the last opportunity to settle the conflict: "The Armenian
and Azerbaijani leaders are set to meet in Kazan on June 25 to discuss
the Karabakh conflict. The meeting is deemed as the last chance to
reach an agreement. Even Aliyev thinks so... But it is hard to predict
if any agreement could be reached over the basic principles. However,
the meetings is deemed as the last chance and the last hope for a
peaceful settlement of the conflict."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress