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A ONE-PAGE DOCUMENT WILL BE DISCUSSED IN PARIS

Politics

“The main aim of my visit is to prepare the February 10 meeting of the RA and Azeri Presidents in Paris in a more efficient way. The meeting will take place with the participation of the OSCE co-chairs and my personal representative”, announced OSCE Chairman-in-office, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium Karel De Gucht in a meeting with the journalists.

Mr. De Gucht voiced hope that the two Presidents will display wisdom and courage in order to come to an agreement. “We must allocate peace-keeping forces, carry out rehabilitation works, and the sides must have the guarantees of the international structures”. The journalists reminded Mr. De Gucht that in 1994 the sides declared a ceasefire which has been violated more than once. What guarantees can the OSCE give for the non-violation of the agreement in case it is reached?

“OSCE does not have an army and does not intend to have one. OSCE is a kind of an intercessor. We can only say what country will send the forces and for how long, and agree the issue with the sides”. Mr. De Gucht did not mention the countries which can allocate their forces in Karabakh. By the way, Russia has already expressed wish to allocate its forces.

The RA Foreign Minister mentioned that it is still too early to discuss the issue and at the same time he announced, “I’m telling you from the very beginning that we can never accept the Turkish forces in the region”.

The OSCE Chairman-in-office also mentioned that in case the Paris meeting results fruitful, Karabakh will be able to participate in the negotiations too. The journalists tried to find out what document will be represented to the Presidents of the two countries. The RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan answered, “There is a one-page document. General principles are stipulated in the document. In case they are agreed upon the document will turn into a resolution. It is also possible to put the document aside in the course of the negotiations and to discuss completely different issues.”