The EU statement on the constitutional referendum in Karabakh should not be perceived as negative attitude to democratic processes in Karabakh, said EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby upon completion of the meeting with NKR President Arkady Ghukasian. He remarked that according to assessment of the international community, the level of democracy in Nagorno Karabakh, however referendum carries some principal elements that should be settled during the talks. “It specifically refers to Nagorno Karabakh’s status,” he underscored.
For his part Nagorno Karabakh President Arkady Ghukasian expressed satisfaction with the meeting dedicated to discussion of serious topics such as the constitutional referendum and the EU’s reaction on it. “The EU’s reaction seems illogical to me. What does it mean to recognize or not recognize the outcomes of the referendum or the Constitution?” the NKR leader said. In his opinion, here one should speak of the essence of the Constitution or compare the Constitution of NKR and Azerbaijan. “Comparison would be useful for both sides. They could derive something for themselves and it would be beneficial for us as well, since we would appreciate a dialogue with a democratic state,” he said. According to the NKR President the reaction of the international community on the referendum is directly connected with Azerbaijan’s policy. He emphasized that the international community should promote democratic processes in Nagorno Karabakh and this will have a positive impact on the talks. “Negative reaction jeopardizes the negotiation process. With adoption of the Constitution we inform the international community of principles and goals of people of Karabakh,” Ghukasian said. At that he reminded that in summer 2007 presidential election will be held in Karabakh and asked Peter Semneby whether the election will receive a similar reaction. In Ghukasian’s words, Mr Semneby answered that conduction of election is very important and the presidential election should not arouse the same (negative) reaction. The NKR President also informed that the EU Envoy is going to visit Nagorno Karabakh in January 2007, reports IA Regnum.
