Russian Foreign Minister Chides PACE for Interfering with Karabakh Settlement

YEREVAN (Arka) — Speaking at a news conference in Yerevan today the visiting Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov chided the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for interfering with the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are mandated to help the sides forge out a mutually acceptable peace formula.

On November 5, the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), approved an anti-Armenian report entitled “Escalation of Violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and Other Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan” by Robert Walter from the United Kingdom, a rapporteur of the PACE Political Affairs Committee. The report contains numerous anti-Armenian wordings that are unacceptable to both Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The report is put on PACE’s January session.

Lavrov said the co-chairing countries -Russia, France and the United States – stand firmly opposed to all attempts to shift the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict from the OSCE Minsk Group to any international organization not mandated to tackle the problem. According to him, the road to peace lies through consistent and patient dialogue.

Lavrov said the co-chairs work on the basis of arrangements and agreements reached by the sides to the conflict , and the Minsk Group trio is the only authorized body on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.

“Any sudden drastic action, no matter who does it, only harms the work of the co-chairs, who are working very actively and publicly and are in constant contact with the parties both at the level of ministers and special representatives,” Lavrov said.