Meetings with Azeri pres to yield positive results: Armenian leader

Hurriyet

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said Thursday he would be glad of any meeting with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, since these contacts are leading to positive decisions.

“I am glad for any meeting with President Aliyev because I can see that all our meetings leading to positive decisions,” Sargsyan told a joint press conference with the European Commission Chief Jose Manuel Barroso following their meeting in Brussels.  

Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders met in Moscow at the weekend and signed a declaration calling for a “peaceful resolution” to their dispute over the province of Nagorno-Karabakh on the basis of “binding international guarantees”, taking a step further towards the resolution of the conflict.

“A few days ago we signed a declaration in Moscow. One of the clauses of this declaration is that we see the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution in the format of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Minsk Group,” Sargsyan was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.

The Armenian president said he and Aliyev agreed to order the countries’ foreign ministers to hold talks in line with the Madrid principles, after their meeting in Moscow.

“If we reach common ground, then I think an agreement on the principles should be signed, which, in turn, should be followed by a fundamental agreement,” Sargsyan said.

The Armenian leader did not say when the next meetings and talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue would be held.

The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia began in 1988 on Armenian territorial claims over Azerbaijan.

Since 1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts, displacing 10 percent of the Azeri population in the series of bloody clashes both between and within the two neighboring countries.

In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group are currently holding peaceful negotiations. Nearly 30,000 were killed in the 1990s war over the enclave and soldiers on both sides continue to exchange sporadic fire, claiming lives.

There is no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey over Armenia’s aggression toward Azerbaijan.

BARROSO HAILS GUL’S VISIT

Barroso said he hoped the Turkish President’s recent visit to Armenia would be the start of a real dialogue.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s visit to Armenia was a remarkable initiative, the European Commission chief told a press conference.

Barroso said he could understand that matters concerning Turkey and Armenia could sometimes be difficult, dramatic and quite sensitive.

However, the difficulties could be overcome with political courage, he added.

Barroso said establishing dialogue and reaching a consensus in the region were of great importance for the stability and prosperity of Europe, as both Turkey and Armenia were parts of the continent.

He also said the ongoing exchange of views between Turkish and Armenian officials would affect the security of the Caucasus positively.

Sargsyan also met other EU officials in Brussels, including foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.

Solana told the Armenia’s president he has supported the Nagorno-Karabakh peaceful talks and the Armenian-Turkish dialogue, Sargsyan’s press office reported.

Source: arama.hurriyet.com.tr/arsivnews.aspx?id=10303196

Posted by admin November 2008

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