Armenia expects courageous proposals from Azerbaijan

PanARMENIAN.Net - The visit of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs to the region seems to be the only result of the meeting the mediators and RA FM Vartan Oskanian held in Brussels September 4.



International mediators will visit Armenia and Azerbaijan early next week in yet another attempt to salvage the Nagorno Karabakh peace process



"We simply talked about how the existing disagreements can be overcome," Vartan Oskanian told RFE/RL. "But there are no concrete agreements. The only hope is that during their visit to the region the mediators will reach some agreements with the leaders [of Armenia and Azerbaijan.]"



When asked whether it means that Azerbaijan is toughening its stance the RA FM said, "I do not want to make any assessments. Anyway, after the Saint Petersburg presidential meeting Azerbaijan had time to think over its positions. The fact that the meeting with the Azeri Foreign Minister revealed nothing new can also show the line of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process."



Vartan Oskanian did not rule out that election campaigns in Armenia and Azerbaijan will influence on the negotiation process. "Undoubtedly, the presidential elections will have an impact on the Karabakh conflict settlement process. However, if there is an opportunity we should take it," he said.



In Oskanian's words, further progress in the peace process hinges on unspecified "courageous steps by Azerbaijan towards compromise." The Azerbaijani side has taken no such steps since the Saint Petersburg summit, he said.