OSCE, PACE SHOULD COOPERATE IN GARABAGH CONFLICT RESOLUTION – RUSSIAN CO-CHAIR

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Sept 26 2005

The OSCE Minsk Group mediating settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan
Upper Garabagh conflict and the special committee of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) may cooperate on a number
of issues, the MG Russian co-chair Yuri Merzlyakov said.

He was commenting on the hearings on the Garabagh conflict held in
Paris within the PACE committee last week.

“The OSCE MG co-chairs are mediating the talks and presenting
proposals, while PACE may contribute to mobilizing public opinion in
the two countries to achieve the compromise needed for the conflict
resolution. It may also be actively involved in ensuring implementation
of commitments that the sides assumed upon admission to the Council
of Europe, with a pivotal obligation being the peaceful settlement
of the Garabagh conflict.”

Merzlyakov stated that CE and PACE may take up ‘control over
every ceasefire violation and influence the sides to honor their
commitments’.

“The belligerent statements that sound every now then and calls for
settling the conflict with the use of force certainly do not promote
conflict resolution…We are ready to share our credentials with PACE
to ensure such statements are not made any longer.”

Merzlyakov said the mediators are concerned over the growing military
budgets of Azerbaijan and Armenia, which ‘may affect the process of
implementing their commitments on the peace conflict settlement’.