26 December 2003, 17:13
Armenian president ready to accept all responsibility for Karabakh conflict resolution
"I am ready to accept all the responsibility for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and do not shift it onto anybody," stated President of Armenia Robert Kocharian in the Hotline section of the Voice of Armenia newspaper.
The Armenian leader made such a statement in response to the reader's question concerning the possibility of putting a proposal on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem to a nation-wide referendum and concerning the Armenian opposition's opinion arising from it that the Armenian president was going to shift the responsibility for the resolution of this problem onto the people in such a way.
"The question about the referendum appeared each time when the opposition tried to accuse me of conducting the negotiations behind closed doors. My answer to it was that the technology of the resolution of such complicated questions supposes confidentiality of a negotiation process in order that the resolution may not be sacrificed to political processes in either, one or another country. I believe it to be right. And in response to such accusations, I always say the result of the negotiations may be put to a referendum. But when I start talking about the referendum, the opposition forget right away that they themselves demanded it and start saying the president intends to shift the responsibility onto the people," stated Armenian President Robert Kocharian.
Source: Voice of Armenia newspaper
