US embassy cable - 04YEREVAN2533

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 
 
 
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OSKANIAN COMMENTS ON AZERBAIJANI UN RESOLUTION 
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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