12:43, 26 March 2004

Meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijan foreign ministers in Prague canceled

The Prague meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict scheduled for March 29 will not be held. As Russian Co-Chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Yuri Merzlyakov told Baku TV channel ATV, the decision to cancel the meeting was made taking into account "the wishes of one of the parties." "Those who accuse the mediators of inaction should just pay attention to the efforts of the conflict parties," Yuri Merzlyakov said. Meanwhile, as an informed source at the Armenian Foreign Ministry reported, the Armenian party did not suggest that the mediators give up holding the meeting. It should be noted that Azerbaijan President Ilkham Aliyev leveled criticism at the OSCE Minsk Group activities yesterday. "For the 12 years of its activities, one can say, the Minsk Group has not made any positive steps," he said. In Aliyev's opinion, the current position of the Minsk mediators cannot play a positive role as it comes out not in solving the problem but particularly in observing it.

Editors note: See also the article "Azerbaijan president critical of OSCE Minsk Group".

Source: PanARMENIAN Network News Server