OSKANIAN SAYS "AZERBAIJAN IS MAKING A

UNCLAS YEREVAN 002533 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN, EUR/SNEC, IO USUN FOR URBANCIC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV AJ AM UNGA SUBJECT: OSKANIAN SAYS "AZERBAIJAN IS MAKING A MISTAKE" IN PURSUING UNGA RESOLUTION -------------- - OSKANIAN COMMENTS ON AZERBAIJANI UN RESOLUTION -------------- - ¶1. During a joint press conference with visiting Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Margherita Boniver November 23, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian commented that "Azerbaijan is making a mistake by initiating the discussion of the situation in the occupied territories issue at the UN, and after a while, it will understand its mistake." Oskanian continued, emphasizing that "we are not concerned that the resolution might be adopted, we are more concerned at the further fate of the political process of settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict." ¶2. Referring to a potential multinational fact- finding mission in the occupied territories, Oskanian pointed out that "Armenian and Karabakh authorities are ready to render every assistance to the activities of such a mission. However, the OSCE Minsk Group itself has a mandate to dispatch such a mission and in this case, the decision should not be adopted at the UN level." ¶3. Oskanian also said that the fate of the Prague process on the Karabakh settlement, begun this year, would depend on whether or not the Azerbaijani draft resolution "On the situation on occupied Azerbaijani territories" were adopted by the UN General Assembly. Oskanian noted, however, that if the session of the UN General Assembly manages to pass another, compromise version of the resolution, Armenia could agree to continue negotiations on the basis of the Prague process. "Given this, we shall immediately be ready for the second phase of the negotiations," Oskanian said. EVANS