ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
July 10, 2005 Sunday 5:17 PM Eastern Time

Political consultations on Karabakh settlement to be held in Baku

By Viktor Shulman

BAKU

The Azerbaijani leadership and the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk
Group will hold political consultations on the Karabakh conflict
settlement here on Monday. Yuri Merzlyakov, Bernard Fassier, Steven
Mann who represent Russia, France and the United States in the Minsk
Group arrived in Baku on Sunday. According to diplomatic sources in
Baku, they will hold behind-closed-doors consultations with
Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar
Mamedyarov.

The US co-chairman noted that their goal is to support the
negotiating process. Everything depends on the political will of the
sides, he added.

Speaking at a meeting with the public of the Geokchaisky central
Azerbaijani region two days ago, Aliyev noted that “the peace talks
on the Karabakh conflict settlement will be continued.” “I still hope
that the positive result is possible, as some progress is observed
recently in negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. I hope that
more progress will be made,” the president pointed out.

After the consultations in Baku the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk
Group will visit Yerevan and Nagorno Karabakh. According to the
sources, during a visit to the region they will discuss a draft
document that the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia presented at
their meeting during the CIS summit in Kazan on August 26.