Discussion of two anti-Armenian reports launched at PACE Winter Session

 PACE Winter Session started on January 25.  Today on January 26, discussions were launched on two anti-Armenian draft resolutions on the agenda: "Escalation of violence in Nagorno- Karabakh and the other occupied territories of Azerbaijan" (rapporteur Robert Walter, UK) and "Inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water" (rapporteur Milica Markovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina). The draft resolutions contain wordings running counter to the Armenian side's stand on these issues. The efforts of the Armenian Delegation to PACE to remove these documents from the winter session agenda have failed.  

To recall, the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group made a statement on January 22 wherein they welcomed efforts to find a negotiated settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and are prepared to work cooperatively with those committed to a peaceful settlement. "We appreciate the interest paid by PACE members, but urge that steps not be taken which could undermine the Minsk Group's mandate from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe or complicate ongoing negotiations," the statement says.
This statement caused Baku's indignation. Spokesman for Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Hikmat Hajiyev blamed the Co-Chairs for acting "as monopolist" in the negotiation process. "Azerbaijan will continue its activities in this area in all relevant international organizations," he said.  

For his part, Tigran Balayan, Spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of Armenia, has told ArmInfo that the latest statement by the OSCE Minsk Group co- chairs concerning the expediency of discussing and adopting the two reports on the Karabakh issue by PACE can be considered as one more message addressed to Azerbaijan. "The co-chairs have reiterated that Azerbaijan's attempts to drive the Karabakh peace beyond the OSCE MG format will undermine the negotiations for peaceful resolution of the conflict," he says.