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State Department Spokesman Richard
Boucher briefed. [Unrelated Deleted about China, etc.] Richard, yesterday Armenia and Azerbaijan leaders, they met at the White House. Are they close to reaching an agreement, any agreement about the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, or are you still hopeful on this? MR. BOUCHER: As you know, the Secretary was down in Key West a week ago today. He had some good meetings down there, and after that President Kocharian of Armenia and President Aliyev of Azerbaijan had four days of serious and intensive talks with the US, French and Russian co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. The Presidents, in our view, demonstrated goodwill and a strong commitment to resolve this conflict on the basis of mutual compromise. The co-chairs are preparing a new comprehensive proposal that will address the problems and the needs identified by the Presidents, the issues that require a solution in order to achieve peace. The Presidents and the co-chairs now expect to hold the next round of peace talks in June in Switzerland, and Ambassador Cavanaugh spoke yesterday with Swiss Foreign Minister Deiss about this. In the meantime, the co-chairs will be working together and with the parties to lay the groundwork for those further talks. President Bush yesterday discussed Nagorno-Karabakh in his separate meetings with Presidents Aliyev and Kocharian at the White House, so you can get a readout from the White House on those meetings. This peace process is quite a gravy train to be on. Meetings in Paris, then you go to Key West, then Switzerland in June. Was there any - other than you say that the co-hosts - MR. BOUCHER: Can I reject that comment before we go on to a real question? (Laughter.) - preparing a new comprehensive plan? Was there any - is that the only - there wasn't any actual progress made between the two Presidents? It was mainly the progress was made between the three co-chairs, who are now going to submit - MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't think I described it that way. I wouldn't describe it that way. We think both parties came prepared to discuss with us and with each other their needs, their concerns, their issues. I think I would have to say that one of the factors in allowing us to make progress in these discussions has been their continued confidentiality of the discussions, and our ability to hold these discussions at locations that offered a certain amount of privacy - And comfort. MR. BOUCHER: - and privacy. And therefore, I think it is appropriate that we continue in that mode if we are to continue to make progress.
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