OSCE MINSK GROUP: "THE MEETING OF PRESIDENTS ALIYEV AND SARGSYAN IN MOSCOW CONFIRMED THEIR CONSTRUCTIVENESS"

Today.Az
az/news/politics/48819.html
Nov 7 2008
Azerbaijan

"The Moscow meeting of the presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan
last weekend gives grounds for optimism", said co-chairs of the OSCE
Minsk group Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia), Bernard Fassier (France) and
Matthew Bryza (the United States) by results of their speech with
the OSCE special representative on Nagorno Karanakh Anzhey Kaspshik
in front of the OSCE permanent council in Vienna.

"There are personal and objective factors in the region, which give
grounds for the the co-chairs to be carefully optimistic", said
Matthew Bryza.

"As for the personal factors, the meeting of Presidents Aliyev and
Sargsyan in Moscow on November 2 proved the constructiveness of their
first meeting in Saint-Petersburg in June of the last year.

This spirit of constructiveness allowed them to sign the first
declaration on Nagorno Karabakh", Bernard Fassier supported the
counterpart, adding that the discussions between Ankara and Yerevan
can also be added to the list of positive factors.

According to the OSCE press service, the objective factors should
include changes in some aspects since the war in South Ossetia.

The co-chairs said Armenia felt the vulnerability of the ways of its
export and import via Georgia, while Azerbaijan felt vulnerability
of energy corridor via Georgia.

Yuri Merzlyakov reminded that "the Moscow meeting, though prepared
long before its conduction by the bilateral channels Russia-Armenia
and Russia-Azerbaijan, is nevertheless in the framework of the Minsk
Group countries efforts on mediation in the negotiations".

Anzhey Kaspshik reminded that 25 people died this year at the front
of the Karabakh conflict and noted that such incidents cause a great
damage to the process of peaceful solution.

The Minsk Group co-chairs also announced the plans to visit the region
before the session of the OSCE Minsk Group in Helsinki, planned for
December 4-5.

They promise to work with the conflict parties to fix the recently
achieved positive impulse and try to find a mutually profitable for
settlement of the remaining differences between the parties.