By Jane Barrett

YEREVAN, June 5 (Reuters) - Nagorno-Karabakh's separatist leader Arkady Gukasyan said on Tuesday the region should be involved in peace talks rather than waiting for Azerbaijan and Armenia to decide its fate.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is trying to broker a peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia to cement a 1994 ceasefire to end a war over Karabakh, in which more than 35,000 people were killed.

Karabakh, an enclave in Azeri territory, is almost entirely populated by ethnic Armenians since many of the ethnic Azeri minority were driven out in the fighting in the early 1990s.

The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan are due to meet on Saturday to discuss the situation in and round Karabakh whose 140,000 inhabitants have voted in favour of independence. It is not internationally recognised as a country.

The region is represented by Armenia in the peace talks and Gukasyan said that while they did not see eye-to-eye on everything, he felt Karabakh's wishes -- particularly for self-determination -- were being heard.

"Karabakh will never agree to be part of Azerbaijan. We will not give up our freedom. If there is no agreement on status, everything else is out," Gukasyan said after meeting the OSCE.

"Keeping discussions between Armenia and Azerbaijan is destructive," he told reporters in the Armenian capital Yerevan.

"We are talking about the destiny of Karabakh and I don't see any reason for us not to be in the negotiations. Karabakh should have the final word."

The OSCE hopes Armenia and Azerbaijan will leave aside the thorny issue of who rules Karabakh and instead agree practical steps to return Azeri refugees to districts round Karabakh, secure a corridor between the enclave and Armenia, and allow international peacekeepers to monitor the moves.

Despite wanting a seat at the negotiating table, Gukasyan said he was ready to see if Armenia and Azerbaijan came up with a deal acceptable to Karabakh.

"Let's let the negotiations finish first and then we'll assess the situation," he said.

"Unfortunately I don't see a resolution. Karabakh will have to get involved sooner or later, if they want to solve specific issues."

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