Azerbaijan wants OSCE mission to inspect seven occupied districts

ANS TV, Baku
24 Jan 05

[Presenter] Will the OSCE fact-finding mission which is to investigate
settlement of Armenians in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan
visit all the occupied districts? The Azerbaijani deputy foreign
minister has dispelled doubts which emerged in the wake of the latest
statement by Yuriy Merzlyakov, Russian co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk
Group.

[Correspondent over archive footage] The OSCE fact-finding mission
which is to investigate the settlement of Armenians in the occupied
territories of Azerbaijan will not monitor the situation in Agdam and
Fuzuli districts. The mission will only inspect Lacin, Kalbacar,
Cabrayil, Qubadli and Zangilan districts. This is what Merzlyakov has
told the Armenian-owned Regnum news agency.

In an interview with ANS, Merzlyakov cited the Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry’s statement that it had no information as to whether Armenian
families were settled in Agdam and Fuzuli districts. He said that the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry does not insist on inspecting the two
districts. However, there is so far no change in the plans of the
mission.

[Merzlyakov speaking on telephone in Russian with Azeri voice-over]
Everything depends on the briefing held by the Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry for us. We will be given all the information there.
Azerbaijan will say which areas should be inspected first.

[Correspondent] Meanwhile, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Araz
Azimov said that the fact-finding mission should monitor all the
occupied territories of Azerbaijan. This means that the mission should
visit Agdam and Fuzuli districts. As to Merzlyakov’s remarks regarding
the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Azimov said that although they did
not possess information on the settlement of Armenian families in
Agdam and Fuzuli districts at the time, they do have it now.

[Passage omitted: Mission to visit Baku on 28 January]