Armenian Deputy FM says Baku trying to scuttle Karabakh talks

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan claimed Friday, June 6, that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is specifically trying to scuttle a new meeting with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan, which is sought by the U.S., Russian and French mediators.

“The OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs are intent on trying to end this stalemate,” Kocharyan told RFE/RL’s Armenian service, after the death of two Armenian soldiers at the border unit.

Andranik Yeghoyan, 26 and Boris Gasparyan, 22 received deadly injures Thursday, as result of Azeri shelling.

“Making things move is at odds with Azerbaijan’s actions.” “They are doing everything to prevent a step forward in the negotiation process,” Kocharyan said.

Asked when the new round of presidential talks might take place, the Deputy FM said that Azerbaijan is trying to create ‘a new situation’ which needs analysis by Armenia and the international mediators. “Either Azerbaijan assumes a constructive position, although I don’t see such a possibility in the near future, or the Co-chairs should change the methods of approach,” he said.

According to Kocharyan, the recent statement by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Swiss President Didier Burkhalter was not accidental.

“The status quo is not an option in the current situation, and we must try to move step by step to a peaceful settlement,” Burkhalter said in Yerevan last week.

Kocharyan rates the statement as OSCE response to Azerbaijan’s provocative behavior and racist policy that will, nevertheless, lead to international recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic by the international community.

Kocharyan also referred to a statement by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who said that “the Customs Union doesn’t resolve the Karabakh issue.

The President’s remark at a Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) youth wing gathering draw a wide response. Specifically, Armenia's second President Robert Kocharian said that Karabakh is “inseparable part of Armenia.”

According to the Deputy FM, Baku takes every chance to represent the Karabakh conflict as a conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which is inadmissible. “Nagorno Karabakh is an independent state but this doesn’t imply a border between it and Armenia,” Kocharyan said.