MINSK GROUP HOPES AZERBAIJANI-ARMENIAN TALKS TO BE CONSTRUCTIVE
ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
June 6, 2007 Wednesday 11:16 AM EST
Co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group said they are hopeful that the
talks between the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents in St. Petersburg
will be constructive.
The co-chairmen gathered in Baku for political consultations on
Wednesday ahead of the upcoming meeting between Azerbaijani President
Ilkham Aliyev and Armenian President Robert Kocharyan.
Aliyev and Kocharyan are expected to meet in St. Petersburg on June 9.
Russian co-chairman Yuri Merzlyakov said the Minsk Group held talks
with Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar
Mamedyarov. "During the meeting, we determined questions to which
the co-chairmen would like to get answers as part of the direct talks
between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia."
"There are no so many questions left that should be coordinated. We
hope that the meeting in St. Petersburg will be held in a constructive
way and be an important step in Karabakh settlement," the Russian
co-chairman said.
French co-chairman Bernard Fassier stressed, "One cannot believe that
all problems will be solved in St. Petersburg." "We’ll be optimists. A
real breakthrough will be reached when the presidents of the two
countries instructs the foreign ministers to begin working out a
peace treaty," he said.
According to the co-chairmen, "it is necessary to prepare our peoples
for a compromise." "No agreement may meet the interests of both
countries. Any agreement is a compromise," Merzlyakov said.
At the same time, the co-chairmen said, "It’s necessary to prepare
our peoples for peace and not for war." The settlement of the conflict
depends on the political will of the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders,
they said.