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Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenian Foreign Minister Says Peace Negotiators Optimistic

PRAGUE, September 13, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian has told RFE/RL that international mediators involved in negotiations on a Nagorno-Karabakh peace settlement believe a framework peace agreement is still possible this year.

He spoke with RFE/RL's Armenian Service by telephone on September 12 after talks in Paris with the U.S., French, and Russian co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group that mediates the negotiations.

He described the talks as "very good and effective." However, he gave few details, saying only that they focused on ways of reinvigorating the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, which faltered this summer after initial reports of progress.

"They believe that it is still possible to make some additional progress before the end of this year or before our parliamentary elections [due early next year] at the latest," Oksanian said.

Ministerial Meeting Is Key

He said the mediators are trying to arrange a meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers, adding that such a meeting could take place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York later this month.

The Minsk Group co-chairs, among them U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza, were to hold similar talks today in London with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov. "The results [of their efforts] can be assessed only after their meeting with the Azerbaijani foreign minister and, if there is agreement, after the two ministers' meeting," Oskanian said.

The latest round of Minsk Group diplomacy began amid talk that yet another Armenian-Azerbaijani summit on Karabakh could be held on the sidelines of a CIS summit in Belarus slated for October 16.

Presidential Meeting In The Cards?

Armenian presidential spokesman Victor Soghomonian recently told RFE/RL that he does not rule out the possibility of a meeting between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan if talks between the countries' foreign ministers are held.

Foreign Minister Oksanian says he agrees with that assessment.

"Only after the ministers meet and clarify whether there is a chance to continue negotiations and make further progress will it be possible to talk about a meeting of the presidents," Oksanian said.

Armenian President Robert Kocharian and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev have already met twice this year in unsuccessful attempts to agree on a framework peace accord put forward by the mediators. The proposed deal calls for a gradual settlement of the Karabakh conflict that would culminate in a referendum on the disputed region's status.

Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org