AssA-Irada, Azerbaijan
January 22, 2007 Monday

PACE URGES YEREVAN TO INFLUENCE GARABAGH ARMENIANS

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)
rapporteurs have called on Armenia to avail of all opportunities and
exert influence on the Armenian population in Upper (Nagorno)
Garabagh to reach a negotiated settlement to the conflict. A report
prepared by the Monitoring Committee rapporteurs Georges Colombier
and Mikko Elo says Yerevan has been failing to take the needed steps
to advance the peace process, which is the greatest hurdle in the way
of stability in the Caucasus region. The document mentions that
although the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders met three times last
year, 2006 saw no substantial action to achieve a peaceful solution
of the dispute. No work had been done to prepare the people in the
two countries for compromise. Neither the Armenian nor the
Azerbaijani public is ready for concessions, it reads. The report
also assesses the developments ongoing in Armenia, suggesting that
the parliamentary and presidential elections eld in this country
since it was admitted to the Council of Europe were unfair and lacked
transparency. The rapporteurs further called on the Armenian
government to heed attention to the issues concerning composition of
election commissions and the procedure of making appeals. The PACE
hopes that the Armenian parliament that is cooperating with the CE
Venice Commission will tackle work to eliminate shortfalls in the
Electoral Code, says the report, which will be discussed during the
winter session of PACE.