"No alternative to peaceful resolution"
There is no alternative to a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This is what RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan announced during a joint press conference with Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Sweden, Carl Bildt who is on a two-day official to Yerevan.
The two foreign ministers discussed the latest developments of Armenia-EU relations and the current stage of negotiations for the Association Agreement, further expansion of the Armenian-Swiss cooperation and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution.
Swiss Foreign Minister Carl Bildt voiced hope that the sides would use any opportunity that would allow a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
"We hope that that will happen in the near future. We must use any opportunity to mitigate the tension. Both sides must compromise in order to move forward for peace, which is of great importance for both countries."
Minister Nalbandyan underlined that having the people of the NKR determine their fate is the cornerstone of a peaceful resolution for Armenia. "I fully agree with NKR President Bako Sahakyan who says it will be impossible to move on to the second stage of the conflict resolution without Karabakh's agreement on the basic principles. The second stage envisages the preparation of an agreement with the participation of the NKR in the negotiations."
As for the June 25 trilateral meeting of the Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian Presidents in Kazan and the signing of an agreement, Minister Nalbandyan stressed that after the trilateral meeting in Moscow, in the MFA statement it was said that the sides had managed to bring their positions on a number of pivotal issues closer. "If this trend continues in Kazan, we will be able to register progress."
In regard to Azerbaijan's statement that the meeting in Kazan is the last chance for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, which followed the meeting of the U.S., Russian and French Presidents after the G8 Summit in Deauville on May 26, Edward Nalbandyan said:
"Who is standing in the Azerbaijani's way of using that chance? As far as the belligerent declarations are concerned, I can recall that the Deauville statement clearly calls on the sides to prepare their societies for peace and that the opposite will be condemned by the international community. This is stated in the statement by the U.S., Russian and French Presidents."
