Monday, January 25 2016 10:51

Spokesman for Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Hikmat Hajiyev made the remarks commenting on the January 22 statement by the OSCE MG co-chairs.  "The recent statement by the OSCE MG co-chairs hinders the activities of other international organizations that seek to contribute to the resolution of the conflict, as well as the sovereign rights of the state that appealed to the international institution in connection with a matter of serious concern, prejudices the objectivity of the mediation efforts of the MG co-chairs and trust in them."   

In his words, the OSCE MG co-chairs "haven't yet fulfilled the mandate granted by the UN Security Council and no progress has been achieved in the settlement of the conflict for more than 20 years."  "The main reason for this is a conciliatory attitude demonstrated by the MG co-chairs towards the continuation of the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia," he said.

Hajiyev blamed the co-chairs for acting "as monopolist" in the negotiation process. "Azerbaijan will continue its activities in this area in all relevant international organizations," he completed.  

To recall, the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, James Warlick of the United States of America, and Pierre Andrieu of France made a statement on January 22 wherein they welcomed efforts to find a negotiated settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and are prepared to work cooperatively with those committed to a peaceful settlement. "We understand that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) may consider resolutions on the conflict in the near future and remind PACE, and other regional and international organizations, that the Minsk Group remains the only accepted format for negotiations.  We appreciate the interest paid by PACE members, but urge that steps not be taken which could undermine the Minsk Group's mandate from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe or complicate ongoing negotiations," the statement says.

To note, on Jan 25 PACE will start its winter session. The agenda includes two anti-Armenian draft resolutions - on "Escalation of violence in Nagorno- Karabakh and the other occupied territories of Azerbaijan" (rapporteur Robert Walter, UK) and on "Inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water" (rapporteur Milica Markovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina). The draft resolutions contain wordings running counter to the Armenian side's stand on these issues. The efforts of the Armenian Delegation to PACE to remove these documents from the winter session agenda have failed.  The documents should be discussed on January 26.