ANKARA: Armenia/Azerbaijan: Presidents Meet In Bucharest To DiscussK

ARMENIA/AZERBAIJAN: PRESIDENTS MEET IN BUCHAREST TO DISCUSS KARABAKH
Journal of Turkish Weekly
June 5 2006
Armenian President Robert Kocharian and Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev have met for talks on the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Speaking to RFE/RL in an exclusive interview, Steven Mann, the U.S.
co-chair of the OSCE’s Minsk Group, said that the presidents spoke
for 2 and 1/2 hours on June 4. “There was a good atmosphere in the
talks and again, a good atmosphere and a detailed discussion,” he said.
The Minsk Group, which is co-chaired by the United States, Russia,
and France, has been negotiating the conflict since 1992.
Russian Minsk Group co-chair Yury Merzlyakov said the fact that the
presidents decided to meet was significant: “Russia’s position is
that a settlement cannot be imposed on the two parties. They should
reach it themselves, with the help of mediators. I think it is clear.
The parties themselves bear the main responsibility for reaching
a settlement.”
The talks are the second time the presidents have met this year,
after meeting in Rambouillet, near Paris, on February 10-11. Those
talks failed to yield any agreement.
Peace Prospects
Predominantly ethnic-Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh seceded from Soviet
Azerbaijan in 1988, triggering a six-year war that ended with a
truce. Officially, the two countries are still at war.
Both presidents are under renewed pressure to reach a framework
agreement on solving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by the end of
this year.
Diplomats and observers have said that, with the absence of national
elections in both countries, this year presents a good opportunity
to reach a framework agreement.
Today, the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents will both speak at the
Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization in the Romanian Parliament
in Bucharest.