WHY DIDN’T OSKANYAN AND MAMMADYAROV MEET?
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[02:54 pm] 06 December, 2006
"The return of Lachin and the referendum are not those issues which
block the negotiation process", said Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov in an interview to day.az referring to those two issues
which are not agreed yet.
As for which are those issues, Mammadyarov did not state, "I would
do it with pleasure, but the problem is that the fewer the uncleared
issues are, the more careful we must be taking into account the
sensitiveness of the Armenian and Azeri societies", he mentioned
hinting that after the final agreement the new variant of settlement
will become subject for public discussions.
Why didn’t Oskanyan and Mammadyarov meeting within the framework of the
two-day meeting of the OSCE Foreign Ministers? Mammadyarov answered,
"I had met my Armenian colleague earlier, after the Minsk meeting of
the Presidents. The Armenian side asked for time in order to analyze
the situation. As far as I understand, they do not have an answer,
that’s why there is no meeting".
During the meeting Mammadyarov voiced doubts as to the sincerity
of the wish of the Armenian side to settle the conflict. According
to the Azeri Foreign Minister, if the Armenian side had that wish,
there would not be a constitutional referendum in Karabakh. "As far
as I understand, the international structures will not accept the
results of the referendum. It is a waste of efforts, time and nerves
which can negatively affect the process of peaceful settlement of
the conflict", said Mammadyarov.