Elections not to delay Garabagh talks - Armenian FM
The presidential elections to be held in Azerbaijan and Armenia in
2008 will not delay talks on settling the long-standing conflict
over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanian says.
Oskanian said that despite the approaching elections, peace talks will be continued.
"We do not link negotiations with the elections," he told Russian Interfax news agency.
The presidential ballot in Armenia has been scheduled for February 2008, while in Azerbaijan it will take place in October that year.
The aggressor country’s official said current positions of the conflicting sides did not allow reaching a solution to over a decade-long dispute. "We need compromises," he added.
Oskanian said the extent of mutual concessions depended on the realities and the past. He said the parties to the conflict should put forth decisiveness and political will and accept what he called compromises required to establish regional peace.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus republics reared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia’s territorial claims. Armenia has been occupying over 20% of Azerbaijan’s internationally-recognized territory since the early 1990s. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but peace talks have been fruitless so far.
The Armenian minister regarded the latest proposals of the OSCE mediators brokering the peace process as a transparent document. He said the submitted set of basic principles for the negotiated conflict settlement was "unbiased and balanced".
At the same time, Oskanian said the document could not fully satisfy the sides, as its content rules out meeting their "maximalist demands".
"We are working to improve the paper. A number of issues are yet to be resolved. But the framework already in place is quite solid," he said.
Commenting on Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian’s statement that the Garabagh conflict was based on religious grounds, Oskanian attempted to defend the head of government.
"His remarks were taken out of context. We have always said that this is not a religious dispute, it is an issue of Upper Garabagh people’s self-determination," Oskanian alleged.
Asked about the possibility of using the Kosovo settlement as a precedent for the resolution of the Garabagh conflict, Oskanian said Yerevan has always stated that "all conflicts differ and each one has its own solution".
"Certainly, precedents are important in general. We will always encounter this whether we like it or not. But we do not equalize the Kosovo conflict with the Garabagh problem."
The UN has administered Kosovo since a NATO campaign forced out Serbian troops in 1999. Armenians hope for the application of the Kosovo model in Upper Garabagh - an Azeri region occupied by Armenian forces since a 1994 cease-fire ended separatist hostilities. Azerbaijani officials have dismissed the claims.*
Oskanian said that despite the approaching elections, peace talks will be continued.
"We do not link negotiations with the elections," he told Russian Interfax news agency.
The presidential ballot in Armenia has been scheduled for February 2008, while in Azerbaijan it will take place in October that year.
The aggressor country’s official said current positions of the conflicting sides did not allow reaching a solution to over a decade-long dispute. "We need compromises," he added.
Oskanian said the extent of mutual concessions depended on the realities and the past. He said the parties to the conflict should put forth decisiveness and political will and accept what he called compromises required to establish regional peace.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus republics reared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia’s territorial claims. Armenia has been occupying over 20% of Azerbaijan’s internationally-recognized territory since the early 1990s. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but peace talks have been fruitless so far.
The Armenian minister regarded the latest proposals of the OSCE mediators brokering the peace process as a transparent document. He said the submitted set of basic principles for the negotiated conflict settlement was "unbiased and balanced".
At the same time, Oskanian said the document could not fully satisfy the sides, as its content rules out meeting their "maximalist demands".
"We are working to improve the paper. A number of issues are yet to be resolved. But the framework already in place is quite solid," he said.
Commenting on Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian’s statement that the Garabagh conflict was based on religious grounds, Oskanian attempted to defend the head of government.
"His remarks were taken out of context. We have always said that this is not a religious dispute, it is an issue of Upper Garabagh people’s self-determination," Oskanian alleged.
Asked about the possibility of using the Kosovo settlement as a precedent for the resolution of the Garabagh conflict, Oskanian said Yerevan has always stated that "all conflicts differ and each one has its own solution".
"Certainly, precedents are important in general. We will always encounter this whether we like it or not. But we do not equalize the Kosovo conflict with the Garabagh problem."
The UN has administered Kosovo since a NATO campaign forced out Serbian troops in 1999. Armenians hope for the application of the Kosovo model in Upper Garabagh - an Azeri region occupied by Armenian forces since a 1994 cease-fire ended separatist hostilities. Azerbaijani officials have dismissed the claims.*
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