14:59, 20 August 2003

Foreign Minister of Nagorny Karabah: "Azerbaijan politicizes problems of humanitarian nature"

"As there are no direct contacts between Nagorny Karabah and Azerbaijan, even on the non-government level, the work on the solution of humanitarian problems becomes extremely complicated," announced the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Ashot Gulyan during his meeting with the relatives of people missing in the area of the Karabah conflict. The meeting was arranged on the initiative of the Nogorno-Karabah committee "Helsinki Initiative - 92" within the all-Caucasian project "Yellow Tulip".

Ashot Gulyan said it was inadmissible for Azerbaijan to politicize the humanitarian problems, and in particular, the problem of the search of the missing. He drew attention to the circumstance that Nagorny Karabah's one-way steps have never caused Azerbaijan's reaction. So it is reasonable that the concrete results are insignificant.

The minister expressed a hope that this meeting would provide a basis for the establishment of direct connections between the parties of the conflict.

Source: Ministry of Foreight Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabkh Republic