“Recently, different people are expressing different opinions about the Karabagh peace settlement. Armenian authorites and international organizations believe that 2006 is the best time period to solve the conflict. However, president of the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh Arkadi Ghukasyan announced recently that we still have a long way to go before we reach a conflict settlement. We had a briefing yesterday with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Karabagh Arman Melikyan yesterday.
-Mr. Melikyan, many people often say that 2006 will be the year for the Karabagh peace settlement; it is the best time period. In your opinion, is it possible to settle the conflict next year?
-I don’t really see that possibility. I am not saying no, but despite being optimistic, I just don’t see it. The evaluations given by the international organizations show optimism and those evaluations in some way have the right to be given. Only time will show.
-How would you explain your “pessimism”?
-The conflict is already a complex configuration. After all, that conflict has been in the center of attention for more than ten years but we have not reached any solution. It is not that easy to solve that conflict.
-Some Armenian political figures, including Aram G. Sargsyan, claim that there is a so-called lack in approach for the conflict settlement because it is not decided: either we want to solve the conflict with the right of autonomous nations, totalitarianism or in other ways.
-I can say that there is not one project which we can all go along with. But we have set forth principles and we are moving on with those principles. The main principle that we are setting forth is separating world recognition of the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh from solving the situation in Azerbaijan which was a result of aggression. The conflict settlement and recognition of Karabagh as a separate state are two different processes and it is not mandatory that one be closely connected with the other. However, according to the sequence of events, one of them may help the other. Basically, international recognition may lead up to the peaceful and rapid conflict settlement.
-President of Karabagh Arkadi Ghukasyan stated during his last visit to Yerevan that he was disappointed that the people of Karabagh don’t participate in the negotiations. In your opinion, does that really create an obstacle for the Karabagh conflict?
-That is bad for the negotiation process. Negotiations can not be fully led without the participation of residents of Karabagh.
-Can you mention any deadlines for the Karabagh peace settlement?
-No, I can’t. I can’t even mention any deadline for the near future.