August 15, 2002 - 20:07 AMT
BAKU TO NEGOTIATE WITH YEREVAN ONLY, AZERI FOREIGN MINISTER STATED
Azerbaijan will hold negotiations on the Nagorno Karabakh problem settlement only with Armenia, because as it is known, Yerevan backs Karabakh. Azeri foreign minister Vilayat Guliyev stated it near Sadarak settlement next to the border, where negotiations between the Armenian and Azeri Presidents were held August 14. In his words, official Baku is against inclusion of Nagorno Karabakh in the negotiation process as a separate party. At the same time Guliyev expressed Baku's readiness "to make certain but limited compromises" in the negotiations. He noted that the situation created in the course of the negotiations may change and "even if Armenia has some advantages in the negotiation process today, it should not make use of them and put pressure upon Azerbaijan."