ALIYEV PROPOSAL UNACCEPTABLE TO ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijan's proposal to provide «highest degree of autonomy» to Nagorno Karabakh is unacceptable to the Armenian party, stated Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian at the CoE Summit in Warsaw when commenting on the speech of Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, reported Mediamax news agency. In his words, «autonomy» is a past stage for Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh. «They have had that autonomy in the territory of Azerbaijan during the Soviet Union period and Armenians of NK have been discriminated by the Azeri authorities,» V. Oskanian reminded. He also criticized the statement of I. Aliyev that Armenia has «occupied» territories of Azerbaijan. Thereupon he reminded that Armenia had to intervene in the conflict after Azerbaijan launched a war against the civil population of Nagorno Karabakh that demanded self-determination. «Today we negotiate with Azerbaijan only due to the reason that Azeri authorities flatly refuse any contacts with authorities of Nagorno Karabakh,» noted the Armenian FM. At the same time V. Oskanian assessed the meeting of the Armenian and Azeri Presidents as positive and he said he hoped for the efforts aimed at the long-term solution of the problem to be efficient.