PACE COMMITTEE ON KARABAKH NOT TO REPLACE OSCE MG

Pan Armenian News
04.05.2005 03:59

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are not going to meet
with Armenian President Robert Kocharian and Azeri leader Ilham Aliyev
during the events dedicated to the victory over Fascism to be held in
Moscow May 9, OSCE MG Russian Co-Chair Yuri Merzlyakov stated, Azeri
APA news agency reported. He rated the negotiations held with Azeri FM
Elmar Mamedyarov in Frankfurt April 27 as useful and progressive. “We
have done a good work”, Yuri Merzlyakov said adding that presently
the Co-Chairs are preparing for the meeting with Armenian FM Vardan
Oskanian. In his words, the place and terms of the meeting are being
considered at the moment. “The meeting may take place in Moscow,
Warsaw or any European city 1 or 2 days before the CE summit. Yuri
Merzlyakov does not rule out that after the meeting with Vardan
Oskanian a recurrent meeting of the Armenian and Azeri Presidents will
be held within the frames of the CE summit in Warsaw May 16-17. “After
the meeting of the Presidents the negotiation process will continue in
the initiate format, when the talks will be held by the FMs of the two
states”, the OSCE MG Co-Chair said. When commenting on the formation
of the PACE Committee on Nagorno Karabakh Yuri Merzlyakov disagreed
with the opinion that the Committee can become an alternative to the
Minsk Group. “The proposal on the formation of such a committee was
submitted as a recommendation in David Atkinson’s report. Council of
Europe Secretary General Terry Davis stated that the Committee cannot
replace the OSCE Minsk Group and its activities will be based on human
rights protection”, he said. He also informed that the Co-Chairs are
not going to visit the region in the near future.