The Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Nagorno Karabakh of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe decided on formation of a working group to deal with the conflict settlement. According to Asim Mollazade, member of the Azeri delegation to PACE, the new group was formed on the initiative of the Subcommittee chairman Lord Russell Johnston and consists of representatives of Azerbaijan and Armenia. "This will be a joint group to elaborate a number of questions referring the fulfillment of the PACE resolution. Thus, the issues submitted to the discussion of the Subcommittee will be first considered by the group," he said. Mollazade reminded that the Subcommittee is charged with the task to implement the PACE resolution on Nagorno Karabakh. "This is the principal task of the Subcommittee. The structure will submit its report and action plan during the PACE January session. The Council of Europe wants to participate in the settlement process," he noted.

The Azeri parliamentarian said that the replacement of the OSCE MG by the newly formed group is out of the question. He stressed that the Minsk Group is the main format of mediation. "The Council of Europe is trying to settle the conflict within the values it protects. The council of Europe cannot connive at a tragedy within Europe. Using its authority the CoE will render wide support to the conflict settlement. We will certainly act within the organization. I believe it will have a positive impact upon the conflict settlement," he stated.