Ministers’ meeting cancelled at Azeri initiative, says Armenian source

Mediamax news agency
25 Mar 04

YEREVAN

The meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers, planned
for 29 March, will not take place.

This was announced on 24 March by the Russian co-chairman of the OSCE
Minsk Group, Yuriy Merzlyakov, in an interview with Azerbaijani TV
channel ATV, Mediamax news agency reports. The mediator said that the
decision to cancel the meeting was taken as a result of the “wish of
one side”.

“Those who accuse the mediators of inactivity should pay attention to
the efforts of the conflicting sides themselves to settle the
conflict,” Yuriy Merzlyakov said.

An informed source in the Armenian Foreign Ministry today said in an
interview with Mediamax that the Armenian side did not ask the
mediators to cancel the Prague meeting.

On 17 March Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said that the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairmen and the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers
would hold consultations in Prague on 29 March. Vardan Oskanyan
expressed the hope that “this meeting will help us understand how
exactly Azerbaijan wants to continue the negotiations”.
From: Baghdasarian