Baku insists on return of seven occupied districts – Azeri minister

Ekspress, Baku
12 Jun 04

During his recent trip to Yerevan, the US co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk
Group, Steven Mann, proposed that the Armenian leadership return three
of Azerbaijan’s occupied districts, the opposition’s Justice bloc said
in a joint statement disseminated in the Armenian parliament yesterday.

[Passage omitted: Armenian reports on the issue]

During the Prague meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign
ministers next week, the Baku government will put forward a proposal
on signing a final agreement on “the return of the seven districts”,
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told journalists
yesterday.

Asked about the probability of new settlement scenarios in Prague,
Mammadyarov said that “this depends on the co-chairmen of the OSCE
Minsk Group”.

Asked about Mann’s proposal, Mammadyarov described it as impossible. “I
have not heard about a statement of this kind. This issue is not
being discussed at all,” he added. According to Mammadyarov, the
current talks have nothing to do with “changing any figures”.

“I have not heard any such words from Mann. Even if it is true, the
Azerbaijani side has expressed its position, making the proposal on
the seven districts”, he said.

[Passage omitted: Expert’s opinion on the issue]