DEFENSE MINISTER: THERE CAN BE NO WORD ABOUT KARABAKH BEING PART OF AZERBAIJAN
Panorama.am
18:33 01/12/06
Asked what is his assessment of Kocharyan-Aliev meeting in Minsk,
Serzh Sargsyan, defense minister, said, "It’s better to ask that
question to Robert Kocharyan. I have not participated in the meeting.
However, Robert Kocharyan, and Aliev as well as foreign agency heads
of the two countries said it was a normal meeting."
Sargsyan believes that in this and other negotiations there will be
difficulties. "The solution will be painful. If it were an easy issue,
it would have been solved long ago," he said.
Sargsyan also said he is not Nostradamus to say when the conflict
will be settled. "We also recognize the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan but we also recognize the territorial integrity of Nagorno
Karabakh because both countries have been established based on Soviet
laws. There can be no word about Karabakh being a part of Azerbaijan,"
the minister said speaking about a statement by NATO which says the
alliance supports the territorial integrity principle for the frozen
conflicts in South Caucasus.