Armenia in dialogue with CIS countries while Azerbaijan moving in
opposite direction: prime minister
YEREVAN, November 16. / ARKA /. Armenia could start a dialogue with
Azerbaijan if the latter pursued the same values as the rest of former
Soviet republics making the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS),
but it goes in the other direction, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran
Sarkisian said today during a meeting with members of the Club of
Editors of the CIS countries, the Baltic States and Georgia.
"We see CIS countries implementing reforms in the same direction - we
are building a market economy, a democratic society, we declare
certain values, which indicate what kind of a future we want to have.
And we need a dialogue, above all, in this regard, but here we see
that Azerbaijan is moving in a completely different direction. It is
an authoritarian state, which does not respect human rights, and fr om
this point of view it is very difficult to find a common language with
it,' he said.
"Of course, we are interested in building normal relations with
Azerbaijan, but you can see what is happening in that country, wh ere
does it leadership take the country to", he said.
Armenia's relations with Azerbaijan spoiled after the conflict in
Nagorno-Karabakh which broke out in 1988 after the predominantly
Armenian-populated enclave declared about secession from Azerbaijan As
Azerbaijan declared its independence from the Soviet Union and removed
the powers held by the enclave's government, the Armenian majority
voted in 1991, December 10, to secede from Azerbaijan and in the
process proclaimed the enclave the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Full-scale fighting, initiated by Azerbaijan, erupted in the late
winter of 1992. International mediation by several groups including
Europe's OSCE's failed to bring an end resolution that both sides
could work with.
In the spring of 1993, Armenian forces captured regions outside the
enclave itself. By the end of the war in 1994, the Armenians were in
full control of most of the enclave and also held and currently
control seven regions beyond the administrative borders of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Almost 1 million people on both sides have been
displaced as a result of the conflict. A Russian- -brokered ceasefire
was signed in May 1994 and peace talks, mediated by the OSCE Minsk
Group, have been held ever since by Armenia and Azerbaijan.-0-
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
opposite direction: prime minister
YEREVAN, November 16. / ARKA /. Armenia could start a dialogue with
Azerbaijan if the latter pursued the same values as the rest of former
Soviet republics making the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS),
but it goes in the other direction, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran
Sarkisian said today during a meeting with members of the Club of
Editors of the CIS countries, the Baltic States and Georgia.
"We see CIS countries implementing reforms in the same direction - we
are building a market economy, a democratic society, we declare
certain values, which indicate what kind of a future we want to have.
And we need a dialogue, above all, in this regard, but here we see
that Azerbaijan is moving in a completely different direction. It is
an authoritarian state, which does not respect human rights, and fr om
this point of view it is very difficult to find a common language with
it,' he said.
"Of course, we are interested in building normal relations with
Azerbaijan, but you can see what is happening in that country, wh ere
does it leadership take the country to", he said.
Armenia's relations with Azerbaijan spoiled after the conflict in
Nagorno-Karabakh which broke out in 1988 after the predominantly
Armenian-populated enclave declared about secession from Azerbaijan As
Azerbaijan declared its independence from the Soviet Union and removed
the powers held by the enclave's government, the Armenian majority
voted in 1991, December 10, to secede from Azerbaijan and in the
process proclaimed the enclave the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Full-scale fighting, initiated by Azerbaijan, erupted in the late
winter of 1992. International mediation by several groups including
Europe's OSCE's failed to bring an end resolution that both sides
could work with.
In the spring of 1993, Armenian forces captured regions outside the
enclave itself. By the end of the war in 1994, the Armenians were in
full control of most of the enclave and also held and currently
control seven regions beyond the administrative borders of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Almost 1 million people on both sides have been
displaced as a result of the conflict. A Russian- -brokered ceasefire
was signed in May 1994 and peace talks, mediated by the OSCE Minsk
Group, have been held ever since by Armenia and Azerbaijan.-0-
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress