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Wednesday, 12 April 2006

AZERBAIJAN WANTS OSCE MINSK GROUP TO PRESSURE ARMENIA

Published in News Digest

By empty (4/12/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

In an April 11 interview with Trend news agency, Azerbaijani presidential-administration official Ali Gasanov argued that unless the OSCE Minsk Group is prepared to exert pressure on Armenia to agree to a settlement of the Karabakh conflict on terms acceptable to Baku, there is no point in it continuing its efforts to mediate a settlement. Also on April 11, Minsk Group French co-Chairman Bernard Fassier advised Azerbaijan to stop looking backward to the past and focus instead on reenergizing the flagging peace process. Fassier expressed concern at the upsurge in cease-fire violations since the inconclusive meeting outside Paris in February between the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents, and at the use by both sides of belligerent rhetoric.
In an April 11 interview with Trend news agency, Azerbaijani presidential-administration official Ali Gasanov argued that unless the OSCE Minsk Group is prepared to exert pressure on Armenia to agree to a settlement of the Karabakh conflict on terms acceptable to Baku, there is no point in it continuing its efforts to mediate a settlement. Also on April 11, Minsk Group French co-Chairman Bernard Fassier advised Azerbaijan to stop looking backward to the past and focus instead on reenergizing the flagging peace process. Fassier expressed concern at the upsurge in cease-fire violations since the inconclusive meeting outside Paris in February between the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents, and at the use by both sides of belligerent rhetoric. He advised Azerbaijani journalists to refrain from using the terms \"aggressor\" and \"victim\" to denote Armenia and Azerbaijan, respectively. Fassier also divulged that following a visit to Baku and Yerevan next week by the U.S. and Russian Minsk Group co-chairs, the three co-chairs will meet in early May in Moscow, where they hope to finalize the \"fundamental principles of a basic agreement\" on resolving the conflict. (RFE/RL)
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