In a news conference on December 15 the Armenian reporters asked the OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut visiting Armenia if there is certainty over the time of agreement on the principles of settlement of the Karabakh issue. The reporters said that the OSCE Minsk Group French co-chair Bernard Fassier stated, for instance, that agreement is possible by mid-2009, and it is even said possible by spring. The OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut stated that the meeting of the OSCE foreign ministers in Helsinki in early December, the declaration on the Karabakh issue made during that meeting and the statement of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs inspire hope that the high-level talks for the settlement of the conflict will continue. For the timing, Marc Perrin de Brichambaut says it takes practical flexibility, which is a matter of mutual confidence, mutual respect. The OSCE secretary general said the situation is rather complicated, and it is necessary to foster the resolution of this situation. Reminder: Lenmarker stated that the memorandum of regulation of the NKR conflict may be signed by spring of the next year. And the French co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Bernard Fassier said that the sides were suggested consenting on main principles by mid-2009.
