Karabakh Parliament Speaker Ashot Ghulyan

YEREVAN (ArmRadio)—The leadership of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is not expecting much from the upcoming summit of Armenian and Azeri president scheduled for later this month in the Russian city of Kazan.

Speaking to reporters after a closed session of the Armenia-Karabakh inter-parliamentary cooperation commission, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Parliament Speaker Ashot Ghulyan said the unlike the mediators and participants of the talks, the Karabakh leadership is not anticipating a quick resolution at Kazan.

“A joint statement may be adopted following the meeting of Armenian, Azeri and Russian presidents in Kazan, as the Minsk Group co-chairing countries are making every effort to achieve progress in the Karabakh negotiation process,” Ghulyan told reporters.

The parliament speaker said that Baku’s continued military threats and recent overtures to change the negotiation process do not instill optimism in the Karabakh leadership.

Ghulyan said that Nagorno Karabakh will sooner or later be involved in the negotiations as a full-fledged party to the talks.

“For this very reason, at the last meeting with the co-chairs, The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic president emphasized that we see the participation of Karabakh in all stages of the peace process,” added Ghulyan.

The parliament speaker said Karabakh leaders anticipate that the negotiation process will pick up speed in the fall and urged that all diplomatic efforts be used to present Karabakh’s position to the international community.

A corresponding agreement was reached during the Inter-parliamentary Commission session.

Ghulyan also commented on Thursday’s OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairmen’s statement calling on the sides to avoid military provocation. He said the statement was “addressed to those who have taken such provocative actions in the past.”