“The message of the U.S. Secretary of State reflects the position the U.S. has held for many years. Condoleezza Rice stressed the necessity of achieving a peaceful agreement and reiterated that the U.S. supports the negotiations of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement. The discussions were fundamental but I would not like to go into detail,” OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair Steven Mann stated. He said he has heard that on the second day of the talks Robert Kocharian left the room where the talks were held and Russian mediator Yuri Merzlyakov followed him, after what the negotiations were broken off. “I was in Rambouillet and did not see anything of the kind. This case seems to be invented,” Mr. Mann said. “The year of 2006 should become the year of conflict settlement by progress has been fixed yet,” he noted adding that if 2006 is lost it will be a real tragedy. Steven Mann said a great deal of work has been done during recent 2 years and there is the possibility to achieve agreement which is extremely necessary. Noting that the Prague process was formed for attaching confidentiality to the efforts exerted for achieving peace, the diplomat said everything depends of the political will of both Presidents. “In my opinion, the Presidents treat the issue very seriously. I believe the society supports the idea of peaceful agreement. Conversations with Armenians and Azerbaijanis prove that neither of the parties wishes the resumption of hostilities. This is a favorable fact. But strong will is essential for progress,” the American diplomat said, reported RFE/RL from Baku.
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