28 October 2008, 13:26
President of Armenia voices three conditions of Karabakh settlement
President of Armenia Serzh Sarkisyan is sure that the Karabakh conflict can be settled: if Azerbaijan recognizes the right of Nagorno-Karabakh to self-determination; if Karabakh has on-land communication with Armenia; and if international organizations and leading countries guarantee safety for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.
As he said, after a long passive period, the settlement process of the Karabakh conflict has now entered its active phase, and in the near future even a more active stage of public debates will start. The grounds to think so are in the presidential elections recently completed in Armenia and Azerbaijan and in the impossibility to settle conflicts in warlike manner; recent events in the region are good evidences.
"We've spent quite a lot on settling the Karabakh problem to close our eyes and pretend that we don't see speculations. We're here to solve a sacred problem and a major historical issue; and if someone tries to benefit otherwise, it's immoral," said Serzh Sarkisyan in his interview to the Public Television of Armenia.
He has emphasized that the process of settling the Karabakh conflict goes within the framework of the Minsk OSCE Group on the basis of the Madrid principles: "I said many times and repeat again that there are no more mediators - the only ones are the co-chairs of the Minsk OSCE Group, and Armenia never addressed any country for mediation," President has stated in his comments on the statement of his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul that Armenia was the first to ask his help in settlement issues.
Author: Lilit Ovanisyan, CK correspondent
