Russian mediator pleased with Karabakh peace talks in Baku – agency

Trend news agency
30 May 05

Baku, 30 May: Russian diplomat Yuriy Merzlyakov is pleased with the
results of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs’ visit to Baku and the
meetings they held here within the Nagornyy Karabakh peace process,
Merzlyakov has said in an exclusive interview with Trend.

“My impressions are very good and the talks with Azerbaijani Foreign
Minister [Elmar Mammadyarov] were, in my opinion, very constructive.
At least, we set tentatively the dates of the next meetings between the
[Azerbaijani and Armenian] foreign ministers with the participation of
the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. Now, the prospects are clear,” he said.

Merzlyakov said the co-chairs’ meeting with Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev, which was held at the initiative of the Azerbaijani side,
was very important.

“Our current visit is not a traditional, customary visit the co-chairs
make to the region. We have come here to meet the foreign ministers. We
are very grateful to Mr President for this. Aliyev found time to
meet the co-chairs following quite a difficult period of preparation
and celebration of the launch of the Azerbaijani section of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. I think we had a very interesting and
important meeting with him which allows us to hope that the process
will further develop in a constructive direction,” Merzlyakov said.

He said a date would be set within the next two days for the Minsk
Group co-chairs’ meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanyan. This meeting is to be held during the first half of June.
The Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers will then meet in
mid-June with the participation of the Minsk Group co-chairs. The
exact dates and venues of these meetings have not yet been decided.

The co-chairs will most probably pay another visit to the region
of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict during the first half of July,
Merzlyakov said.