November 20, 2003 - 18:07 AMT
ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER NOT RULING OUT OSCE NEW PROPOSALS ON KARABAKH SETTLEMENT
One will be able to speak of further development of the Nagorno Karabakh settlement only after the OSCE Minsk Group coming visit to the confrontation region, secretary of the Security Council under the Armenian president, defense minister Serge Sargsian told "Liberty" radio station. At that he did not rule out the opportunity for the mediators to make new proposals over the conflict settlement. The minister emphasized Armenia intends to set about talks based on a number of principles stated by president of Armenia Robert Kocharian in his time. S. Sargsian reminded that those principles specifically are that Nagorno Karabakh cannot be in direct subordination of Azerbaijan, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) cannot further be in a position of an enclave and should have a border with Armenia, as well as NKR security guarantees are necessary. It should be reminded that the visit of the Minsk mediators to the region is presumably to take place in the initial decade of December.