NATO WON’T SUBSTITUTE MINSK GROUP IN KARABAKH SETTLEMENT – OFFICIAL
by Sevindzh Abdullayeva, Viktor Shulman
ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
July 4, 2006 Tuesday
NATO does not want to substitute the OSCE Minsk Group as the Karabakh
settlement intermediary, Assistant Secretary General Jean Fournet
told a Tuesday press conference in Baku.
He is taking part in the NATO Week in Baku.
NATO encourages the Azerbaijani and Armenian search for Karabakh
peace settlement, he said. The alliance thinks that both countries
should avoid moves that may endanger the peace process, he added.
NATO shows big interest in the settlement negotiations, however,
the Minsk Group remains the chief intermediary, Fournet said.
He said that the alliance has a good partnership with all the three
South Caucasian republics and Russia. He said the cooperation will
develop, as all of them encounter the same challenges: terrorism,
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and human trafficking.