No alternative to Karabakh peace talks - Armenian foreign minister
YEREVAN. Oct 1 (Interfax) - The Karabakh peace talks must be continued, Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian has said.
Nalbandian said in a program that was broadcasted by the Voice of America that they had no other way and the negotiations must go on because of the lack of an alternative. He also said they needed to prepare for meetings of various levels, including a summit of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents.
Nalbandian confirmed that meetings must be prepared, adding that Azerbaijani violations of the ceasefire and escalating tensions were not helpful.
In his words, Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh have repeatedly expressed their readiness to create mechanisms for looking into border incidents.
Azerbaijan has always been rejecting this proposition of the OSCE Minsk Group intermediaries, the Armenian foreign minister said, noting that they reiterated adherence to the formation of such mechanisms at the meeting in New York but Azerbaijan practically declined the offer again. The minister said Azerbaijan must have been assuming full responsibility for the violations of the truce by doing so.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at the UN General Assembly session that his country would have to use the right provided by the UN Charter to independently restore its territorial integrity if Armenia continued to delay the withdrawal from Azerbaijani territory.
