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Baku to Study Appointment and Withdrawal Procedure of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs – Azerbaijan’s Representative in OSCE

Politics Materials 28 March 2008 13:30 (UTC +04:00)
Baku to Study Appointment and Withdrawal Procedure of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs – Azerbaijan’s Representative in OSCE

Austria, Vienna, 28 March / Trend corr. A.Alaskarov / The Official Baku is studying appointment and withdrawal of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs on Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno Karabakh, rather than the composition of Minsk Group, Fuad Ismaylov, Azerbaijan's representative in OSCE, stated to Trend on 28 March.

"The issue does not concern the Minsk Group's composition, but to clear procedures of appointment and withdrawal Minsk Group co-chairs," Ismaylov said.

The information about Baku's appeal to OSCE Secretariat in Vienna to dismiss Minsk Gropu composition was spread in Azerbaijan's press on 26 March. According to the media, the reason for appeal became dissatisfaction of the Azerbaijani Government connected with OSCE member-countries including Russia, France and the United States voted against the Resolution on Situation in Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan adopted during the session of UN General Assembly on 14 March.

Official Baku considers that protesting against the Resolution on Situation in Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan, which was presented by the Azerbaijani side to the UN General Assembly, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen brought themselves to a difficult situation, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Araz Azimov, briefed the media. The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen have been engaged only in giving promises which they have not kept," Azimov said. According to him, the Co-Chairmen are the participants of the political games. The positions of their countries do not coincide. Each of them has their own interests in the region. Several countries, to whom Azerbaijan appealed for supporting the Resolution, openly said that Russia and other countries put pressure on them in order to protest against Azerbaijan's position during the discussions on the Resolution in the UN General Assembly.

The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since 1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful negotiations.

In May 1994, the sides reached a ceasefire agreement and fruitless peace negotiations have been held by OSCE Minsk Group through co-chairmanship of Russia, France and United States so far.

The Resolution, supported by UN 39 countries, urges the member-countries to respect and support sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders.

OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs consider the Resolution danger for peace negotiations directed to solution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

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