Interfax
March 25 2004

Azerbaijani president critical of OSCE Minsk Group

Baku. (Interfax-Azerbaijan) – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has
criticized the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for its role in trying to settle the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict over the past 12 years.

“I cannot give a positive assessment since the OSCE Minsk Group has
not taken any really effective steps over this period,” Aliyev told
journalists on Wednesday.

“The Minsk Group’s current approach and its position on settling this
conflict cannot play a positive role since the group has restricted
itself to merely monitoring the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh,” he
said.

The Azerbaijani president also denied statements from the Armenian
authorities that Baku and Yerevan had allegedly reached certain
agreements on the conflict’s settlement.

“There have never been any such agreements. This is another lie from
Armenia,” he said.