YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–On Friday–senior Armenian officials denied speculation that an interim US peace plan was proposed–calling for an Armenian withdrawal from some of the occupied Azerbaijani territories before an agreement on Mountainous Karabagh’s status. "Those reports do not correspond to reality," said Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian who was in Washington–DC earlier this week. Oskanian met with US Secretary of State Colin Powell and national security adviser–Condoleeza Rice–but would not go into details of the talks–saying only that he is "satisfied" with the results of the meetings.
"Our joint agenda with the United States has indeed grown," he said. "Numerous issues were discussed [in Washington]. In a way–a new situation has emerged because Armenia was included in the Millennium Challenge Account initiative."
Armenia and Mountainous Karabagh have for years insisted on a "package" settlement–involving simultaneous agreemen’s on the region’s status and the occupied territories. This position was reaffirmed on Friday by Prime Minister Andranik Margarian.
