DATE=6/27/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CLINTON - ARMENIA (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-263826
BYLINE=DEBORAH TATE
DATELINE=WHITE HOUSE
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: President Clinton and Armenian President
Robert Kocharian met at the White House Tuesday to
discuss prospects for ending Armenia's long running
territorial dispute with neighboring Azerbaijan.
Correspondent Deborah Tate reports from the White
House.
Text: Administration officials say Mr. Clinton told
Mr. Kocharian he believes Armenia and Azerbaijan have
the opportunity to end their bitter conflict over the
mountainous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh if they want
to. Mr. Clinton assured his Armenian counterpart the
United States would do its part to support a durable
settlement.
A cease-fire was signed in 1994, but disputes remain
over independence claims by Nagorno-Karabakh, a mostly
ethnic Armenian enclave located within Azerbaijan.
The United States - which enjoys close ties with
Armenia, and is home to a sizeable Armenian-American
population - has been deeply involved in the search
for an end to the dispute. The United States, Russia
and France co-chair an Organization of Security and
Cooperation in Europe effort to find a settlement to
the conflict. An OSCE team is to travel to the
region next week.
Mr. Clinton - who discussed Nagorno-Karabakh with
Azerbaijan's President Heydar Aliyev in February -
also used his 35-minute meeting with Mr. Kocharian to
underscore the link between peace and economic reform.
Fighting broke out in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1988 after
the region's ethnic Armenian majority tried to break
away from Azerbaijan's rule, when both states were
still Soviet republics. Some 35-thousand died.
Mr. Kocharian rose to power on the Nagorno-Karabakh
issue. He is a former leader of the enclave, and was
elected Armenia's President in 1998 after the army
forced his predecessor, Levon Ter-Petrosian, to
resign. Military officials had suspected Mr. Ter-
Petrosian was preparing a compromise with Azerbaijan.
Stability in the region has become a priority for the
United States, which supports a planned pipeline to
carry Caspian sea oil, being extracted by U-S and
European companies, across Azerbaijan to the
Mediterranean at Ceyhan, Turkey.
// rest opt //
Mr. Kocharian is on a five-day visit to Washington,
which concludes Thursday.
On Monday, he met with Vice President Al Gore at an
official dinner at the State Department.
On Wednesday, the Armenian leader will meet with
lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including Senate Majority
Leader Trent Lott. Later, he will hold talks with
officials at the International Monetary Fund.
Neb/dat/KBK
27-Jun-2000 20:06 PM EDT (28-Jun-2000 0006 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
