KOCHARYAN HAS AGREED, AND ALIEV?

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“I cannot comment on the things I have not heard”, said Bernar Facier, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairman, refusing to comment on the Ilham Aliev’s announcement on restarting the Karabakh war and on retuning the allegedly occupied 7 territories. Avoiding estimate Ilham Aliev’s announcements, he noted: “There is no one in Moscow, Washington or in Paris who considers that the war can be an alternative for settling the conflict. Peaceful negotiations do not have alternative version”. Mr Facier repeated previously mentioned statement: “We have met the RA President, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister. They mention that there is a progress and we hope that the same we will hear in Baku”.

The progress is that Robert Kocharyan has accepted the proposal of the Co-Chairmen to meet Ilham Aliev at the Summit of the Heads of State of the CIS Member States in Sankt Petersburg due in June. The Co-chairmen expressed their hope that Aliev would also like to meet Robert Kocharyan. The Armenian journalists had an opportunity to ask some questions to the Russian Co-Chairman Yuri Merzlyakov. The latter said: “Nothing is decided finally. No one may exclude that one day one of the concerned parties will say that he declines the agreement. However, I should mention that the number of issues which are not agreed is becoming fewer”.

“The suppositions that new proposals are made to the parties is wrong. We do not have new proposals, they cannot even be. There can be only details on implementing the main principles or supplementing them”, said Yuri Merzlykov. As he mentioned, during the meetings the ministers of foreign affairs discussed the mentioned details. He also stated that the Co-Chairmen expect global approaches from the presidents’ meeting. In Merzlyakov’s opinion, reaching agreement on fundamental issues does not mean signing a final agreement. “Works on that agreement will be commenced only after reaching agreements on the principle issues. The process on the peaceful agreement will last long. Specialists of various fields will be involved in that process. Of course, the basic document will not satisfy the both parties, but it is a balanced one”, said Yuri Merzlyakov.

Today the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen promised to visit Armenia in 2 weeks together with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairman Matthew Bryza. As to the involvement of Nagorno-Karabakh in the negotiation process, Bernar Facier reminded that Nagorno-Karabakh was not left out from the negotiation process by them, and added: “It will not only be useful but is it important that the Karabakh representative also joined the negotiations”. The two Co-Chairmen are leaving for Baku today. During the visit the Co-Chairmen talked to the President of Nagorno-Karabakh only by phone.

Mr Facier also reflected on the NA elections: “The elections in Armenia were a step forward, on the right direction”. Yuri Merzlyakov announced that there were all grounds to reach common agreements on all the principles by the end of 2007. Nevertheless, he noted that the political will of the two presidents was not enough for that.