16:13, 11 October 2008

Armenia insists on determining the status of Nagorny Karabakh

Eduard Nalbandian, Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, states that the key issue in settling the Karabakh conflict is the status of Nagorny Karabakh, which must be resolved by a free declaration of will of the Karabakh people.

While commenting on the Bishkek meeting with his Russian and Azeri counterparts, Nalbandian says that they were discussing details of the negotiation process to settle the Karabakh conflict. Touching upon the possible influence of the coming presidential election in Azerbaijan on the negotiation process, Nalbandian states that, after the elections, the negotiations may enter a more active stage and new meetings may start between representatives of the conflicting parties.

The Armenia Minister of Foreign Affairs calls the statements by certain analysts and political figures to the effect that the Armenian party is at a disadvantage in the negotiation process, as a manifestation of "sick imagination".

The meeting of E. Nalbandian, S. Lavrov and E. Mamediarov, ministers of foreign affairs of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan, was held within the CIS summit in Bishkek.

Author: Lilit Ovanisyan, CK correspondent