By Ruzanna Stepanian
A visiting delegation of the European Parliament met with senior representatives of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in Yerevan on Tuesday to discuss prospects for a peaceful resolution of the conflict with Azerbaijan.The meeting with NKR Foreign Minister Ashot Ghulian and parliament speaker Oleg Yesayan took place on the sidelines of a regular session of a parliamentary body promoting closer cooperation between Armenia and the European Union.
Ghulian told RFE/RL that the EU parliamentarians sought information about the situation in Karabakh and its government’s position on the unresolved conflict. He said he reiterated Stepanakert’s position that no peaceful settlement can be implemented without the Karabakh Armenians’ consent.
“Any solution going against the wishes of our people will be very difficult to put in practice,” he said. “I think they understand our position because what we present is based on the existing realities.”
The Karabakh issue is on the agenda of the commission meeting co-chaired by German lawmaker Ursula Schleicher and the chairman of the parliament’s foreign relations committee, Armen Rustamian. However, it is unlikely to discuss and express opinions on specific peace formulas suggested by the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the main mediating body.
The OSCE’s current chairman-in-office, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy, will arrive in Yerevan on Wednesday as part of a regional swing. Passy is scheduled to meet with NKR President Arkady Ghukasian.