04 October 2004, 23:27
Armenia does not expect much help from PACE in resolving Karabakh conflict
"With the help of some countries, Turkey and Azerbaijan are trying to move the issue of the Karabakh settlement from the OSCE Minsk Group to the Council of Europe, which holds an interest in increasing its role in the region," Garnik Isagulian, the Armenian president's national security adviser, said to journalists. He voiced confidence that the issue of resolving the Karabakh conflict by peaceful means would remain under the jurisdiction of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and would not be removed to the Council of Europe. Commenting on the report presented by Terry Davis, the former PACE rapporteur on the Karabakh conflict, who criticized Armenia's position, Garnik Isagulian said this report had no legal status and therefore consequences.
In his words, both Terry Davis and the present PACE rapporteur on the Karabakh conflict, David Atkinson, are representatives of Great Britain, which is one of the few countries that have recognized Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, including Nagorny Karabakh. "It's one of the reasons why Great Britain wasn't included in the OSCE Minsk Group. The Armenian side didn't expect anything else as no representative of an interested country can draw out an unbiased report on the Karabakh problem," Mr Isagulian said. Armenia doesn't expect anything special from the present PACE rapporteur too for the same reason, he added.
Author: Ashot Ter-Grigorian, CK correspondent Source: Caucasian Knot
