Slovene, Azerbaijan foreign ministers discuss Karabakh conflict, democracy
STA news agency, Ljubljana
2 Apr 05
Baku, 2 April: The Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and democracy-building
topped talks held by Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, the OSCE
chairman, with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov in Baku
on Saturday [2 April].
Rupel met Mammadyarov as he began the final leg of his three-day
Caucasus tour, which has also taken him to Armenia and Georgia, as
well as Kyrgyzstan.
According to Rupel, Mammadyarov presented a number “of very
interesting and fresh ideas” for a solution to the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict. [Passage omitted – background]
Rupel today reiterated his call for both sides to join in efforts to
step up talks for a final resolution of this issue.
Meanwhile, progress in democracy was the other main topic of Rupel’s
talks with Mammadyarov. The Azerbaijani foreign minister said the pair
agreed about the importance of building democracy in the country.
Defending the OSCE’s role in the region, Rupel said the security
organization was not meddling in internal affairs or taking sides. The
OSCE is merely striving to support a political process, he claimed.
With parliamentary elections looming in Azerbaijan, Rupel said the
goal of the government should be to ensure that there was no doubt
about the validity and fairness of the vote.