ArmInfo.The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs have not made visits to Artsakh for quite a long time. Artsakh Foreign Minister David Babayan stated this on January 19 during a press conference in Stepanakert.
In this vein, he recalled that their last visit to Stepanakert was at the end of 2019. According to Babayan, then there was a pandemic, the war and their visits were constantly postponed. "However, these are all technical obstacles. A more serious obstacle from a political point of view is Azerbaijan, which apparently hinders their visit and causes various problems. Of course, we are in touch with the co-chairs. You know that there was a meeting between the President of Artsakh and the new Russian mediator in Yerevan, which I also attended", Babayan said, adding that Artsakh highly appreciates this meeting, which was held in a constructive environment and important issues were discussed.
At the same time, the head of the Foreign Ministry of Artsakh expressed hope that the mediators would still visit Artsakh, despite the obstacles of Azerbaijan. In this vein, he pointed to the latest statement by the President of Azerbaijan, in which there was also criticism of the mediators. "According to the logic of Azerbaijan, the OSCE Minsk Group should be abolished. But I do not think that the co-chair countries will succumb to this blackmail and Azerbaijan will achieve its goal. Goals are difficult to achieve, easier to put obstacles. Therefore, I want to say that we are waiting for their visit through various platforms, we have a connection with them, and we can convey our point of view to them", Babayan summed up.
It should be noted that on January 12, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, in an interview with Azerbaijani TV channels, among other issues, touched upon the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group, Criticizing their work once again, Aliyev stated that mediators should not deal with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, since it has been resolved, and if one of the conflicting parties says that the issue has been resolved, then mediation is no longer required. At the same time, he threatened to take tough action if the mediators decide to intervene.