YURIY MERZLYAKOV: "IT HAS BEEN AGREED TO DEVELOP THE NEGOTIATION PROCESS ON THE BASIS OF MADRID PROPOSALS"
Azeri Press Agency
June 27 2008
Azerbaijan
Baku. Ulviyya Aliyeva-APA. OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Matthew Bryza
(USA), Bernard Fassier (France) and Yuriy Merzlyakov (Russia) have
finalized their visit to Azerbaijan. The co-chairs made a statement
for the journalists at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport,
APA reports.
Merzlyakov said they held interesting meetings with President Ilham
Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Azerbaijan. He
reminded that two weeks have passed since the St. Petersburg meeting
between the presidents and said the co-chairs tried not to lose
the time. "It was agreed to develop the negotiation process on the
basis of Madrid proposals. We talked about that". Fassier said the
co-chairs didn’t bring new proposals to the region. "We have enough
work to do what the both sides told us in St. Petersburg. We are
trying to clarify some points of Madrid proposals and to make some
amendments and to improve some of them. The presidents appreciated
their meeting in St. Petersburg as positive and constructive and
expressed optimism. Making reference to that we can say that our
meetings in Azerbaijan were also positive and constructive, but we
have huge work ahead". Fassier highly appreciated the military parade
in Azerbaijan held on the Army Day. Bryza said that he was in good
mood and he hoped the situation in Yerevan would also be so. "We will
leave for Yerevan and then for Khankendi. Essentially we will learn the
Yerevan’s reaction to Madrid proposals. This visit is not different
form previous ones. Simply it is our first visit to the region after
the presidents’ meeting in St. Petersburg. The presidents should keep
intercourse with each other. At first the foreign ministers should
meet and solve some issues".