“Kocharian frustrated Azerbaijan’s hopes”
"Azerbaijani side tolerated Karabakh's participation in the talks by 1997 as it saw that Armenian leadership lacked resolution and even imagined Karabakh in the territory of Azerbaijan. But things changed after 1998," head of the Republican Party (HHK) Galust Sahakyan told A1+.
With the arrival of Kocahrian's "resolute team" in 1998, Azerbaijan realized that Karabakh can no longer remain in the territory of Azerbaijan and hence toughened its position and wanted to negotiate only with Armenia.
In reply to A1+'s remark that Karabakh's withdrawal from the talks is thus connected with the name of Robert Kocahrian who is said to have forced the country out of the talks, Mr. Sahakyan said: "No, I do not mean that. Karabakh did not participate in earlier meetings of the two countries' heads and no document on a trilateral meeting was signed."
When reminded of three-lateral negotiations in Helsinki in 1997 mentioned by Armenia's ex Foreign Minister Alexander Arzumanian earlier today, Mr. Sahakyan said: "The negotiations were not held in the framework of a meeting between the countries' heads. In fact, Karabakah participated in the signing of ceasefire in 1994 thus becoming a participant of the talks but to blame Kocahrian for shouldering the responsibility and representing Karabakh in the talks is a slander, a provocation. I support the statement issued by the office of Armenia's second President Robert Kocharian today."
The statement read that Karabakh withdraw from the negotiations before Kocahrian came to power.
"The Karabakh conflict cannot be settled without Karabakh's direct participation in the talks," concluded Mr. Sahakyan.
