OSCE MISSION IN ARMENIA TO CHECK FACTS OF SETTLEMENT IN AZERI DISTRICTS

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
29 Jan 05

(Presenter in studio speaking over video of the OSCE mission) The OSCE
factfinding mission has arrived in Yerevan to check whether there are
settlements on the (occupied Azerbaijani) territories. The experts
will visit the seven districts outside Nagornyy Karabakh. The mission
appointed by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen includes experts from
Finland, Italy, Switzerland and Germany. The mission is led by an
OSCE expert from Germany, Emily Margarethe Haber. The representatives
will not be accompanied by anyone from the Azerbaijani side.

After the mission completes its work, the experts will prepare a
technical report in 8-10 days and submit it to the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairmen. It is expected that the co-chairmen will issue a
statement on the facts they discover. The Azerbaijani side says that
they presented the members of the mission, while in Baku, with video
and audio tapes of settlements in these territories. Russian
co-chairman Yuriy Merzlyakov said in his brief interview in Yerevan
that they (Azerbaijanis) say there are settlements in these
territories.

It is necessary to find out who they are, where they have come from
and why they have settled there.

(Yuriy Merzlyakov speaking in Russian with Armenian voice-over) Our
route has been determined. We will be in Stepanakert tomorrow morning
and visit the districts around Nagornyy Karabakh every day in one
week. It means that we will visit one district every day. As for the
monitoring in the north of Karabakh, this is a separate issue and
should be carried out separately.