YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–The current position of the parties to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict are as clear as they were in 1988 when the Karabakh movement was still in its early stages–Acting Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian said in an interview with Lraper TV on Sunday.
Oskanian commented about certain recent distortions in the positions of the sides–particularly in Armenia’s position on the status of Karabakh. Referring to the importance of Armenia’s current position–Oskanian stressed that the current situation involved certain complications for the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen. "I think that they have no other alternative; they have to consider the recent events in Armenia and amend their offers so as to allow the peace process to resume," Oskanian said.
Oskanian highlighted the significance of Azerbaijan’s position which had seemingly disregarded the Karabakh side and kept it aside from negotiations by insisting that the conflict is between Azerbaijan and Armenia. "I view this as a clear signal from Azerbaijan that Karabakh is de facto independent and this fact has to be taken into consideration. The best way for Azerbaijan to show that it realizes this fact will be for it to agree to participate in direct talks with Nagorno-Karabakh," Oskanian concluded.
