In an interview to Aravot newspaper, the Armenian Foreign Minister said that no Karabakh-related issues can be solved without its people’s approval.
“During the joint press conference with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, we stressed the role of Russia, as an OSCE Co-chairing country, in the peaceful settlement of the conflict,” Edward Nalbandian said.
The Minister said he meets with his Russian counterpart around 10 times a year, each of those meetings addressing the Karabakh conflict.
“I would strongly advise media outlets to focus on official statements while covering such delicate issues. The OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs have issued five statements, highlighting the principles of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict peaceful settlement. Even a simple comparison would reveal the difference between the Co-chairs’ approach and the media publications,” Nalbandian noted.
In response to question on PACE's possible adoption of a controversial report on Nagorno Karabakh, the Minister said Armenia shares the Co-chairs’ stance on the issue. Namely, he said, other international organizations should take no steps that can hinder the settlement process or further escalate the situation on the contact line. Foreign Minister Lavrov expressed the same view during his latest official visit to Armenia, Nalbandian said.
With a vote of 24 to 16, the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), has approved an anti-Armenian report titled “Escalation of Violence in Nagorno Karabakh and Other Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan” by Robert Walter (United Kingdom, EC), a rapporteur of the PACE Political Affairs Committee. The report contained inappropriate wording.
“PACE and other international organizations should consult with the OSCE [Minsk Group] Co-chairs before issuing reports or resolutions on Nagorno Karabakh,” U.S. Co-chair James Warlick said in a tweet.
According to Armenia’s foreign policy chief, Azerbaijan seeks to move the conflict settlement discussions to other platforms. But the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairmanship, he said, is the only format mandated to tackle the issue.
Commenting on PACE’s another report on the Sargsang Reservoir in Karabakh, Nalbandian said no document can be considered objective and impartial, where an unbiased research on spot was not conducted.
Karabakh authorities are ready to cooperate with the PACE on a controversial report on the Sarsang Reservoir, a spokesperson for Karabakh Foreign Ministry said.
“We got a letter from the PACE Secretariat Director General Mario Martins requesting to facilitate PACE’s Sarsang Reservoir rapporteur Milica Markovic’s visit to Karabakh,” Ani Sargsyan noted. “We stressed in our response letter that Karabakh authorities are ready to cooperate with the PACE despite our serious concerns regarding the title of the report and the overall process of its preparation.”
“Karabakh authorities have always supported the idea of the joint use of Sarsang waters with Azerbaijan. The rapporteur could also discuss technical issues of the project with Karabakh authorities,” Nalbandian noted.
The Minister stressed that the rapporteur has already managed to visit Azerbaijan twice, while Karabakh has only 3-4 days ago received a letter from PACE requesting to accept the rapporteur.
Back in early August, Nalbandian said, the head of the Armenian delegation to the PACE has also expressed readiness to accept the rapporteur in Armenia.
“The report is set to be introduced to the PACE Social Affairs Committee, which would mean the document mustn’t be politicized. The rapporteur, however, has included some distorted facts that contradict to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs’ formulations. This report pretty much sounds like that of Walter’s,” the Minister said.
As Azerbaijan’s lobbying efforts fail in other European organizations, Baku is trying to clutch at straws with initiatives in PACE, Nalbandian said.
