Upper Garabagh’s Azeri community leader criticizes MG co-chairs
Baku, April 2, AssA-Irada
Leader of the Azerbaijani community of Upper Garabagh Nizami Bahmanov
stated that the OSCE Minsk Group (MG) co-chairs are delaying settlement
of the Upper Garabagh conflict, at a meeting with Dimitrij Rupel,
the OSCE chairman-in-office, on Saturday.
Bahmanov told a news briefing that he came up with a proposal relating
to the involvement of all MG members in the process. “Italy, Turkey,
Finland and Sweden, members of the MG, adhere to an unbiased position
on the conflict,” said Bahmanov, noting that the MG co-chairs ‘have
frozen’ the process.
Bahmanov noted that he extended to Rupel his dissatisfaction
with some provisions mentioned in the report prepared by the OSCE
fact-finding mission that conducted monitoring in the conflict zone.
“The fact that the report does not mention Armenian’s involvement in
the illegal settlements is unfair,” he said.
Bahmanov went on to say that ceasefire breaches on the frontline
become frequent after the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution on Upper Garabagh and Armenian
Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian failed to meet with his Azerbaijani
counterpart in Prague.
“By breaching ceasefire, Armenia intends to keep the people living
close to the frontline in fear,” Bahmanov added.*