Azerbaijan Accuses The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries Of Violat

AZERBAIJAN ACCUSES THE OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIR COUNTRIES OF VIOLATING THE PRINCIPLE OF NEUTRALITY

armradio.am
02.04.2008 14:49

By voting against the resolution of the UN General Assembly "On
situation in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan," the OSCE co-chair
countries have violated the principle of neutrality, said Azerbaijan’s
Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov.

"The assurance of the Co-Chairs that voting against the adoption of the
document, they tried to be unbiased does not correspond to reality,"
he told reporters on Tuesday.

The Deputy Minister also noted that the request of official Baku
regarding the replacement of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs is a kind
of warning.

"The Co-Chairs should take a lesson from this message. We are satisfied
with the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group. However, the recent steps,
cause our resentment. We consider that the potential of the Minsk
Group has not been exhausted and the Co-Chairs have monopolized the
peace talks," Azimov noted.

He said the provision of territorial integrity of Azerbaijan occupied
an important place among proposals, put forward four years ago.

"If not so, official Baku would have rejected the talks. Azerbaijan
will not accept the loss of a part of its lands and will ensure its
territorial integrity by any means," the Deputy Foreign Minister said.

He also touched upon the possible future of the Lachin corridor. Noting
that the corridor is important both for Azerbaijan and Armenia, Azimov
noted that official Baku proposes the possible use of the corridor
by both parties provided that it remains part of Azerbaijan. He said
that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are aware of it and this issue