NKR DEPUTY FM: AZERI PARTY’S GOAL IS TO UNDERMINE NKR’S FOOD SECURITY

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
Oct 10 2006

October 9 the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Deputy FM Masis Mailyan
received the members of the OSCE Mission on the estimation of the
ecological situation in the bordering zone between Nagorno-Karabakh
and Azerbaijan.

According to the information DE FACTO got at the NKR MFA Press Service,
welcoming the commission’s members Masis Mailyan underscored the
NKR leadership was always open for the international cooperation
and did its best for the OSCE monitoring to be held. In his turn,
the Mission’s Head, Coordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental
Activities Bernard Snoy (Belgium) expressed his gratitude to the
Nagorno-Karabakh authorities for the substantial support of their
plans’ implementation, having noted the Karabakh experts participating
in the monitoring had contributed to the Mission’s work on Azerbaijan’s
territory. Mr. Snoy expressed satisfaction that the Karabakh leadership
had allowed the Azerbaijan’s representatives to participate in the
monitoring on the Nagorno-Karabakh’s territory.

"Our goal is to come to the conclusions based on the consensus. The
mission’s task is to strengthen confidence between the parties, which
will promote the conflict’s settlement in the future", noted the
OSCE Coordinator. In his words, the experts will estimate the fires’
short-term and long-term influence on the environment and prepare
recommendations on the actions to be undertaken again fires.

On the request of the Mission’s members Masis Mailyan presented the
situation connected with the fires. In part, he noted the fires had
begun early June, mainly because of the unprecedented dry weather.

He noted Baku politicized the problem, in part, the Azeri mass media
charged the Karabakh party with the fires’ organization. "In June we
sent a letter to the OSCE urging to hold a crisis-monitoring to refute
Baku’s ungrounded accusations. The first monitoring was held June 28,
then 3 more monitorings were held July 3, 4, 5. On the outcomes of the
monitoring the OSCE Chair-in-Office’s Personal Representative Andrzey
Kasprzyk prepared a report. However, Azerbaijan led the issue to the
U. N., and we are dissatisfied over the fact", Masis Mailyan said.

The NKR Deputy FM voiced discontent that the discussions in Vienna
on the fires had been conducted without the representatives of the
Nagorno-Karabakh – the most concerned party.

He mentioned the main reasons for the fires on the fields in the
bordering zone: unprecedented drought, Azerbaijan’s hostile actions –
the Azeri servicemen set fire to the dry grass on the neutral territory
and used tracer bullets while shooting. "The Azeri party’s goal is
to undermine the NKR’s food security. As a result of the fires the
Nagorno-Karabakh’s interests were prejudiced for 3, 5 milliard drams",
Masis Mailyan said.

He spoke up for the necessity of the joint activities to be undertaken
by the Karabakh and Azeri structures, having noted as early as in
2001 the NKR leadership had offered a complex of measures on the
establishment of trust to Azerbaijan (over 20 proposals), one of which
presumed elaboration of the preventive measures on the pastures’
fires. "However, Baku rejected the Karabakh party’s proposals,
and the mediators did not promote them properly. If our proposals
were accepted, the current situation would not be like this. Today
we are also ready to cooperate with Azerbaijan, but, unfortunately,
Baku does not get in touch with the Karabakh party even on the issues
of mutual interest", Masis Mailyan stated.

The Deputy FM answered numerous questions of the Mission’s members
who thanked him for the thorough information.

The officials from the NKR MFA, MOD, the Ministry of the Production
Infrastructures and Territorial Management, the State Department of
Ecology participated in the meeting as well.

The representatives of the U. S., Germany, Macedonia, Switzerland,
Italy, France, Moldova and Estonia are in the OSCE Mission. In
Nagorno-Karabakh the Mission will hold monitoring of the zone adjacent
to Azerbaijan for 3 days. To remind, October 5-7 the OSCE Mission held
a similar monitoring from the Azeri party with the Karabakh experts’
participation.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress