November 7, 2015 - 14:13 AMT
Azerbaijan devalues OSCE role in Karabakh conflict settlement

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry slammed the OSCE Minsk Group U.S. Co-chair’s response to a PACE report assessing the situation in Nagorno Karabakh, Contact.az reports.

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.

“The OSCE Minsk Group hasn’t made even the slightest progress in resolving the Karabakh conflict, depriving the U.S. Co-chair of any rights and grounds to advise and give recommendations to other organizations,” a spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.

According to Hikmet Hajiyev, the Minsk Group’s unsuccessful activities serve the interests of Armenia in every possible way. James Warlick himself is possibly “an integral element of the plan, serving the continuation of Armenia’s aggressive policy,” the spokesperson said.