HE EDITED SERGE SARGSYAN AND KOCHARYAN
Support A1+!Today the RA Minister of Foreign Affairs Vardan Oskanyan tried to edit viewpoints of Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan expressed during his overseas visits.
In the interview in the United States Serge Sargsyan mentioned, that the religious difference of the two nations was a serious problem and was the basis of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Vardan Oskanyan had to explain Serge Sargsyan’s declarations to Azerbaijani journalists that religious difference did not lay in the basis of the Karabakh conflict.
Today he informed the Armenian journalists that nations’ self-determination problem was the basic problem of the Karabakh conflict to be settled. Besides the declaration in the US, Vardan Oskanyan tried to explain Serge Sargsyan’s words on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the interview to “Reuters” agency. Serge Sargsyan said that a document might be signed on Karabakh negotiation process by 2008 presidential elections.
As compared with Serge Sargsyan, Robert Kocharyan is not an optimist in this regard. Kocharyan ensured that by 2008 presidential elections no document might be signed on the Karabakh problem. Oskanyan tried to elucidate Sargsyan’s optimism.
“I am also an optimist in regard with negotiations. It is a common endeavor to come to consensus on basic principles, which will be followed by a great procedure. This 2,5-paged document should turn to a 30-50-paged agreement on peace and we should negotiate on the details. The sooner we begin, the better for us”, explained Oskanyan.
As to Robert Kocharyan’s pessimism in this regard, Vardan Oskanyan said joking: “A pessimist is the well-informed optimist”.
Oskanyan also added: “The President may approach this problem from another point of view, he may be more cautious. If we do not have that hope, it will be difficult for us to negotiate. Thus, we should negotiate hoping to register progress. And the document we are negotiating on is advantageous for us”.
In the interview with “Routers” in Brussels Serge Sargsyan also said that he had been participating in the development of Armenia’s policy on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement and approved the document submitted to the concerned parties in Madrid. Vardan Oskanyan doubted to say anything: “Maybe you have misunderstood something. Only the President is competent to approve the document. Maybe the Prime Minister has not chosen correct words. He could not say he agreed with the document, since as we know only the President can do that. I think that the Prime Minister said he was completely aware of the content of the document. It’s not the right time to express our approach on this problem”.
We should mention that Vardan Oskanyan was surprised by Serge Sargsyan’s declaration, while this part of his interview was broadcast by the Public TV Company.
Mr Oskanyan reminded the journalists, that when 2 days ago Azerbaijan tried to shift the discussion of the Karabakh conflict to the UN, Mr Oskanyan announced that the Armenian part would stop the negotiations. Oskanyan said that the negotiations continue today and we would continue them.
He also pointed out that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen presented the document, on the main principles of the conflict solution, to the parties in Madrid and did not bind it to the parties. “They expressed their viewpoints in that document, but they did not bind anything. The document is open to discussion. Their approaches are expressed in it. We will express our viewpoint, Azerbaijan – its viewpoint. I consider that the negotiations on this document will continue in the next year”, said Vardan Oskanyan.
“A1+” asked Mr Oskanyan to comment on presidential candidate Arman Melikyan’s viewpoint, as if the liberated territories should not be returned, since they were the compensation to the Azerbaijani-Armenian refugees.
“I would not like to comment on anybody’s declarations, since we may hear many viewpoints in this period. We have our position and we will continue our path”, said the RA Minister of Foreign Affairs.
