No need for another monitoring in occupied Azeri land – Russian co-chair

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 23 2005

Baku, March 22, AssA-Irada

There is no need to conduct a repeated monitoring in the occupied
Azerbaijani territories, the Russian co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group
Yuri Merzlyakov said. Another mission may be sent to these areas
only to study the situation observed after the first monitoring, the
co-chair said. Merzlyakov noted, however, that he does not believe
a repeated mission would yield any results.

Merzlyakov opposed regarding as a double standard the statements that
responsibility for the purposeful settlement of Armenians rests not
with the Armenian government but with separatist Upper Garabagh.
“The mission did not ascertain a purposeful policy of settlement
pursued by the Armenian government. The separatist leadership of Upper
Garabagh, however, does not conceal this. Moreover, it openly says that
extensive settlement of population was carried out in Lachin. Since
the mission pointed out these facts, the co-chairs can’t deny them.”*