Interview of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev for the Russian informative television program "Vesti" - Lisbon, December 3, 1996

Question: Heydar Aliyevich, we would like you to comment the decision of OSCE on the Mountainous Garabagh (Nagorno-Karbakh).

Answer: The decision of OSCE concerning the Mountainous Garabagh (Nagorno-Karabakh) does not carry exhaustive character. At the same time the acting chairman of OSCE on behalf of all the participants of the summit - the members of OSCE declared the fundamental principles for the settlement of Mountainous Garabagh (Nagorno-Karabakh) conflict. This is the positive result of the Lisabon summit. By the way, I am notifying with great satisfaction that the Russian Prime Minister, dear Viktor Stepanovich Chernomirdin, the head of the delegation of the Russian Federation supported this statement in his speech at the summit. He declared that the process of negotiations should be continued and agreement on the settlement of the conflict should be achieved in particular on the basis of these principles.

Question: Did you meet the President of Armenia there?

Answer: I met him yesterday and also the Prime Minister of Russia.

Question: Can you tell us anything about the meeting with Ter-Petrosyan?

Answer: We were in different positions, but we had completely identical position with Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin.

Question: Do you consider that OSCE can play an active part in the settlement of the Mountainous Garabagh (Nagorno-Karabakh) conflict?

Answer: I think that it can play. OSCE is engaged in this conflict. It was so from the beginning. The Minsk group is the part of OSCE and it was organized in 1992 just with the desicion of OSCE.

Correspondent: Thank you.