VIENNA—On Oct. 23, the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group released the following statement:
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs (Ambassador Yuri Merzlyakov, the Russian Federation; Ambassador Bernard Fassier, France; Ambassador Robert Bradtke, United States) attended a “Retreat on OSCE Mediation Activities” hosted Oct. 22-23 by the OSCE Conflict Prevention Center in Vienna, Austria. After the retreat, the co-chairs provided a quarterly briefing to the OSCE Minsk Group.
On the margins of the retreat, each ambassador individually participated in different bilateral meetings with a variety of interlocutors, including, among others, Greek Ambassador Marinaki, representing the OSCE chairman-in-office; OSCE Secretary General Perrin de Brichambaut; Armenian Ambassador Hovakimian; Azerbaijani Ambassador Ismayilov; Kazakh Ambassador Abdrakhmanov; Swedish Ambassador Bard-Bringeus, representing the EU presidency; and Turkish Deputy Undersecretary Cevikoz.
The co-chairs will also travel to Luxembourg Oct. 25-27 to meet Armenian Foreign Minister Nalbandian and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Mammadyarov. They will address plans for their next trip to Baku and Yerevan in November and preparation for discussion of the Nagorno-Karabagh settlement at the OSCE Ministerial Council in December 2009.
Mothers of Armenia,
Political Parties of Armenia,
Military forces of Armenia!
This line leads to a new war in the region. Armenia-Azeri relationships are not a matter of politics. It is a vital question for the survival of these two nations. Politics is not immoral. Politics is amoral. We have to understand that the war will become hot again when all sides want that. Russian Federation wants Armenia-Azeri new military escalation because of tensions and failure in Chechnya, Kosovo, Abkhazia, and South Osetia and counter-American politics. The United States of America wants that because of war and failure in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan and couter-Russian Politics. Turkey wants that because of Cyprus, its bad geographical position and the chance to get rid of the Armenian Quest. Georgia wants that because they are Georgians and they have Sahakashvili. Only the Armenian and Azeri peoples do not want to fight again. The only solution for the peoples of Azerbaijan and Armenia is to keep the status quo until politically healthy forces in Armenia and Azerbaijan come to power.
jeshmarid@yahoo.com