The press conferences of RA Foreign Affairs Minister, Vardan Oskanyan, have always been interesting because he always mentions some phrase or statement that is not in the least accepted by the society. Perhaps you remember his words, “progress in the conditions of a 100-year blockade”, “Caucasian tiger”, and numerous “wrong translations”. Yesterday during the joint press conference with Robert Simmons, NATO’s visiting special representative to the South Caucasus, he once again surprised us by with a self-confession. Minister Oskanyan denied the rumors about a possible change of the OSCE Minsk Group format. As for Nagorno-Karabakh’s participation in the negotiation process, the Minister emphasized that this issue is always on the agenda. “Karabakh’s participation doesn’t mean enlargement of the OSCE MG format; it means returning to the main format,” Oskanyan pointed out. Simmons urged both sides to continue the difficult search for a mutually acceptable settlement and again ruled out NATO’s direct involvement in the process being spearheaded by the three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. “We believe it’s important for both parties to find a negotiated solution to the crisis,” he said. The mediators have still not said whether they intend to make another push for settlement in the next few months. I think you still remember the Oskanyan’s statement in March 1997. It was when Karabakh was gradually banished from the negotiation format, Kocharyan was appointed Prime Minister, and the victorious program of “8,000 square kilometer independent Karabagh” was brought up. Ten years have passed and this victorious program is still being implemented with Oskanyan’s direct participation, but the result is that till now we are struggling to get back to the “main previous format”.
