OSCE KARABAKH ENVOYS OPPOSE CHANGE TO UN FORMAT

ITAR-TASS News Agency
September 18, 2007 Tuesday 4:01 AM EST

The three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group for Nagorno-Karabakh
opposed the idea of entrusting the settlement of the conflict to the
United Nations.

In current conditions a change of responsibility of the Minsk Group for
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement is out of question. A change of format and
the transfer of negotiations to the UN "calls for a mutual decision
of the parties to the conflict and of those, who currently deal with
it," i.e. the mediators, Russian co-chair of the Minsk Group Yuri
Merzlyakov said on Monday.

French co-chair Bernard Fassier agreed and said the three-co-chairs
"do not find acceptable the option" of transferring the settlement
mission to the UN.

Merzlyakov, who together with Fassier and US co-chair Matthew Bryza
visited Nagorno Karabakh on Sunday, said the number of contradicting
issues has been decreasing in the Karabakh conflict and the first
contact with new Nagorno-Karabakh leader Bako Saakyan "was productive".

On Tuesday the co-chairs will visit Azerbaijan and Merzlyakov
expressed hope "the meetings in Baku will be not less productive"
than in Nagorno-Karabakh and Yerevan.

The upcoming presidential elections in Armenia and Azerbaijan will
not freeze the negotiating process, Fassier said adding the co-chairs
will continue to shuttle across the region.