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When asked whether there had been any serious changes in Russia's stance, President replied that he had nothing specific to say. However, he indicated that Baku and Moscow had held fruitful talks over Karabakh conflict settlement lately. In response to the question whether the Key West meeting would be followed by talks in Moscow, Heydar Aliyev said he had no information to that effect. Expressing his opinion about the recent statement by the Minsk Group co-chairs [Russia, France and the United States] that the parties are as close to signing a peace accord as they have never been before, the President said there were grounds for optimism. In reply to the question if the recent visit of the Turkish Foreign Minister Ismayil Cem to the USA could effect the Karabakh negotiation process, Heydar Aliyev said, "Turkey has always been sympathetic to Azerbaijan cause. However, having noticed the keenness of certain circles in Turkey to thaw relations with Armenia, I notified Turkish government officials of this. This issue could have been raised in Mr. Cem's meetings in Washington." Asked whether he is going to convey the suggestions of the Azerbaijan people over the conflict settlement, President said there were no suggestions he was unaware of. "But I know what people feel and I will certainly take that into consideration," he added. Is there a possibility of a breakthrough in the deadlocked negotiations? Aliyev said he didn't know, but hoped there was. In an answer to the question whether Russia,
which has a military cooperation treaty with Armenia, would intervene
should a war break out, the President said it was unclear at
present. Heydar Aliyev reiterated that he would do his utmost
for a peaceful resolution of the conflict and never agree to
something that may hurt national interests of Azerbaijan. He
said an agreement in the negotiations would only be the first
stage in breaking the impasse, while peace is a more complex
matter. It is necessary to pass through several stages before
the 12-year-long protracted conflict is resolved. The peace accord
must be signed not only by the two conflicting parties, but also
the superpowers, the UN, OSCE [Organization for the Security
and Cooperation of Europe), and the European Union. Back to Key West
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