Interfax News Agency, Russia
Oct 27 2008

Azeri NGO wants Russia kicked out of Karabakh settlement process

BAKU Oct 27

OOK, an Azeri nongovernmental organization campaigning for the
liberation of the Karabakh region, has called on the Azeri authorities
to bar Russia from participating in the Karabakh negotiations, OOK
said in a statement released on Monday.

"Russia’s military intervention in Georgia’s affairs and steps taken
by Russia to restore its supremacy in the region pose a danger for the
fate of Karabakh," the statement said.

Therefore, "we should not let the initiative in the Karabakh
settlement process pass over to Russia and should totally refuse from
this country’s mediation," it said.

Moreover, the organization has urged to reject the mediation mission
of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe)
Minsk Group and suggested the use of a United Nations format as an
alternative.

OOK has also urged that parliamentary hearings be held on the Karabakh
issue to publish the content of all talks on the conflict resolution
that have been held up until now.

OOK has called on the country’s authorities to renounce the idea of
holding any kind of vote in Nagorno-Karabakh concerning its status and
on whether any peacekeeping forces should be deployed in the conflict
zone. The statement also points to the need to prepare the public and
the state for a military operation to free the occupied territories.