INVALIDS OF NAGORNO KARABAKH HAVE A NUMBER OF PRIVILEGES STEPANAKERT,

August 31 (Noyan Tapan). Thousands of people became invalids
as a result of the long Azerbaijani-Karabakh war, regular
artillery bombardment and firing of peaceful settlements in Nagorno
Karabakh. According to the acting legislation of the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic, the invalids have a number of privileges, mainly of medical
character. In particular, on the data of the Social Contribution
Department of the NKR Ministry of Social Security, the treatment and
medical service of invalids are conducted in the frames of the state
order. At the same time, invalids of the first and second groups
get free medicine, and those of the third group get it with a 50-%
rebate. Prosthetic appliances, distribution of carriages, crutches,
acoustics, etc. are made free of charge. In connection with the
September 2 holiday – the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Proclamation Day
– according to a corresponding governmental resolution, funds for
rendering one time aid to some category of people, including the
Karabakh war invalids, will be allotted from the Nagorno Karabakh
state budget.

Civil Georgia, Georgia
Aug 31 2004

Pulling Back Troops, Georgia Calls for European Help
by Jaba Devdariani / 2004-08-31 18:25:46
Reposted from Central Asia – Caucasus Analyst

President Mikheil Saakashvili’s decision to pull back his troops from
South Ossetia is almost desperate cry for the political assistance from
the European powers. Georgia is ready to accept suboptimal solutions
with regards to peacekeeping, but return to the pre-July status quo
is no longer acceptable. If no definitive answer is received within
a month, resumption of hostilities becomes likely.

Background: On August 19, in a first offensive military operation
since the resumption of fire in South Ossetia, Georgian special
forces captured the strategic heights from which Georgian villages
were pounded during almost two weeks. Despite popular calls for a
continued offensive, Georgian authorities decided to hand over the
heights to the tripartite peacekeeping troops and withdraw the police
and military detachments from South Ossetia.

Simultaneously, President Saakashvili called upon the international
community to assist in elaborating a new format of the peace process,
which would allow for international presence during the political
negotiations, and for increased international military monitoring on
the ground. The Georgian government has reiterated that the format
of the Joint Control Commission (JCC) established in accordance with
the 1992 peace accords is no longer acceptable, as it allows South
Ossetia, backed by two other members – North Ossetia and Russia –
to stonewall all Georgian proposals. Top Georgian officials also
repeated offers of substantial autonomy for South Ossetia.

Before Saakashvili’s decision became known on August 19, Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there was no need for an
international conference or any new peace process in South Ossetia,
as the JCC format already provided for a political mechanism. The
U.S. State Department also accepted the language of using “existing
political mechanisms” for defusing the crisis.

However, after the decision on troop pullout, the OSCE’s ambassador to
Georgia hinted optimism on a potential expansion of OSCE monitoring
in South Ossetia. EU special ambassador Heikki Talvitie was visiting
Georgia on August 23, OSCE Permanent Council members are invited
to visit Georgia on September 5 and the president of the European
Commission Romano Prodi is to visit Tbilisi in mid-September.

Implications: The armed clashes in August confirmed the presence of
armed volunteers or mercenaries that have infiltrated South Ossetia
from Russia to fight against Georgian authorities. Following the
most fierce exchanges of August 17-18, independent military analysts
tend to conclude that specific night vision and sniper equipment used
against Georgian detachments indicates either that the Russian special
forces are participating in the clashes directly, or that they have
been training and equipping the Ossetian military for a substantial
period of time.

Saakashvili is determined to engage South Ossetian de facto authorities
in a dialogue over the political status of South Ossetia. However,
Russia’s military backing gives no incentive for the South Ossetian
president, Eduard Kokoity, to launch such a dialogue. Simultaneously,
Georgia has no confidence in a Russia-dominated JCC format.

On August 18, Georgian foreign minister Salome Zourabichvili formulated
the Georgian vision of the peace process at the OSCE Permanent Council
session in Vienna: “demilitarization, ceasefire and direct dialogue
[with South Ossetian authorities].” To achieve these aims, Georgia
calls for an expanded OSCE monitoring, which should include the South
Ossetian section of the Russo-Georgian border (Roki tunnel). Georgia
also calls for an international conference under a OSCE/UN aegis to
discuss the proposals for a political settlement.

So far, the OSCE’s reaction has been cautious, and the support of
the EU and the U.S. rather lukewarm. The Russian foreign ministry
characterized the Georgian requests to increase the OSCE role on July
31 as “obviously unattainable” and accused OSCE monitors of siding
with Georgians in South Ossetia. This is an interesting twist, as
on July 8 the OSCE was accused by CIS countries (except Georgia and
Azerbaijan) of focusing “exclusively on monitoring human rights and
democratic institutions” in the CIS.

The statement argued for an increased security role of the organization
to “correct the imbalance.” Strengthening the security arm of
the OSCE (where Russia has an effective veto right) in Europe to
counterweigh NATO is a familiar goal of Russian diplomacy since
the mid-1990s. Still, Russia consistently objects to even OSCE
participation in South Ossetia, apparently unwilling to dilute it
own direct influence even to a slight extent.

Recently, some Russian politicians commented positively on using the
“Minsk group” format, applied to Nagorno Karabakh conflict since
1992. The “Minsk Group” – a consultative political forum of selected
members of the OSCE – has failed to deliver results in Nagorno
Karabakh, not least because its mandate was blurred, its participants
had no clear commitments, and the initiatives were at times blocked
or ignored by Russia. Involvement of Western powers would still be
a positive outcome for official Tbilisi, but a “Minsk Group” format
can be one, but by no means the only new mechanism for South Ossetia.

For Georgia, expanded OSCE involvement is a suboptimal option.
Certainly, Tbilisi would like to see NATO or EU peacekeepers replace
the Russian ones. Nonetheless, Saakashvili is pragmatic about
available options. U.S. troops are tied down in Iraq and Afghanistan
and Washington is consumed by the upcoming presidential elections.
The EU recently took over an operation in Afghanistan and plans to
do the same in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Thus Georgia’s requests to the international community are rather
minimal: to give an international backing to the political dialogue
by the means of a conference (Bulgaria already offered Sofia as a
venue) and to significantly increase monitoring of South Ossetia as
a confidence-building measure. The Russian-dominated multipartite
peacekeeping forces are allowed to remain in South Ossetia.

If Saakashvili fails to secure this minimal support, Tbilisi would
not be able to restore the situation to pre-escalation status quo.
This would mean a re-opening of the gushing smuggling from South
Ossetia, and a major loss of face with the electorate by backtracking
on key election commitments. There would be a strong public support
for a military operation in South Ossetia, possibly endorsed by
the security establishment in the government and the parliament.
Sustained clashes will undoubtedly damage Georgia’s economic reforms
that the European powers have staked on through a Euro 1 billion
support package. While Saakashvili-Zhvania’s government is genuinely
committed to these reforms, the issues of national security are bound
to prevail.

Conclusions: It would be an illusion to assume that the JCC framework
is capable of addressing the current situation in South Ossetia.
Georgian authorities have acted to solve the key economic (smuggling)
and political (territorial integrity) issues by “de-frosting” the
South Ossetian conflict and it is impossible to reset the clock to
the situation of Spring 2004. Georgian authorities have indicated
willingness to compromise and accept suboptimal security arrangements
to the extent that they ensure minimal security of its citizens and
a progress at the negotiating table.

If the EU and OSCE shuttle diplomacy fails to deliver results within
the coming month, resumption of hostilities could be real in mid-
to late October.

Jaba Devdariani is the founder of Civil Georgia (Civil.Ge), currently
works for the OSCE mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

THE FIRST LESSON AT NKR SCHOOLS TO BE DEDICATED TO 13TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE

ArmenPress
Aug 31 2004

STEPANAKERT, AUGUST 31, ARMENPRESS: The first lesson in all educational
establishments in Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) on September 1 will
be dedicated to the 13th anniversary of proclamation of independence
in NKR. The lessons will be conducted by NKR security council and
government officials, NKR National Assembly deputies. NKR Defense
Army military columns will march along the central streets of the
capital. A government delegation will head from the Square of Revival
to the Memorial where they will put wreaths to the memory of soldiers
killed during the war. Before that a government delegation will put
flowers on the grave of NKR Supreme Soviet first chairman Arthur
Mkrtchian. At 1 p.m. concerts, sports competitions and national
marches will start at the parks and other places of the capital.

Des manifestants condamnés en Azerbaïdjan à des peines de 3 à 5 ans de prison

Agence France Presse
30 août 2004 lundi 11:33 AM GMT

BAKOU 30 août

Six personnes ayant manifesté contre une réunion de l’Otan à Bakou en
juin dernier ont été condamnées lundi à des peines de 3 à 5 ans de
prison par un tribunal d’Azerbaïdjan.

Les six manifestants ont été condamnés pour atteinte à l’ordre public
et opposition à leur arrestation.

Le 21 juin, ils avaient protesté, notamment en brisant les fenêtres
du centre de conférence, contre la présence de deux officiers des
forces armées d’Arménie à la réunion de l’Organisation
transatlantique.

L’Azerbaïdjan et l’Arménie se sont battus pendant quatre ans pour le
contrôle du Nagorny Karabakh, une enclave peuplée majoritairement
d’Arméniens en Azerbaïdjan. Les Arméniens l’ont emporté et contrôlent
l’enclave depuis 1994.

Parmi les condamnés figure Akif Nagi, responsable de l’Organisation
radicale de libération du Karabakh, qui soutient de nouvelles actions
armées contre l’Arménie.

Le 21 juin, l’action des militants avaient été approuvée par de
nombreuses personnes en Azerbaïdjan, ce qui, selon les observateurs,
témoigne d’un soutien grandissant pour une reprise des hostilités au
Nagorny Karabakh.

LEADERS OF RUSSIA, FRANCE AND GERMANY MEET IN SOCHI
[September 01, 2004, 14:25:24]

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
Sept 1 2004

On August 31, a tripartite meeting of the leaders of Russia,
France and Germany was held in Sochi, AzerTAj correspondent reports.
Discussed was wide spectrum of important questions of the international
character. The heads of states have expressed the positions of their
countries on a number of questions.

As the press-service of the Kremlin informs, upon termination
of negotiations of “three”, president of Russia Vladimir Putin,
president of France Jacques Chirac and the Federal Chancellor of
Germany Gerhard Schroeder have answered questions of journalists
on the situation in the Chechen Republic, on the nuclear program of
Iran, about deliveries of oil by Russia on the world markets, about
a position of France in connection with hostages in Iraq

Making comments on results of the Sochi negotiations for mass
media, leaders of three states have expressed satisfaction with the
negotiations. V. Putin has stated that cooperation in frameworks
of “three” allows to avoid new crisis situations in the world. G.
Schroeder, in turn, has stated that at the summit of “three”, many
questions have been coordinated.

Special place in the statements of leaders of three countries has
been given to a question on struggle against the international
terrorism. So, the Russian president has declared necessity of
association of efforts for effective combat against the international
terrorism. As he said, Russia cooperates with all countries of the
world in combat against this phenomenon, both on bilateral basis,
and within the framework of the international organizations. “Last
events in the world, in Russia, and in France, confirm the urgency
of this problem for all countries of the world and for effective
opposition it is necessary for this threat to unite efforts”, the
Russian president has told.

V. Putin also has touched the air crash of two Russian planes, having
noted, that explosion of airliners is the fact, and that the terrorist
organization has accepted responsibility for accidents, confirms
links of destructive elements with the international terrorism.

The president of France Jacques Chirac has commented on the situation
developed with abduction in Iraq of two French journalists. In
particular, he has told, that France promises to do the utmost for
their liberation, and that the French management is making efforts
for this.

As the press-service of the Kremlin reports, during discussion of the
international problems, besides the situation in Iraq and in the Near
East, leaders have mentioned also questions of the Nagorny Karabakh
settlement, the situation in Georgia and in Pridnestrovie.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Fresno drive-by kills 1, wounds 3
Assembly Member Samuelian’s aide is among those hurt.

By Louis Galvan and Jennifer M. Fitzenberger
The Fresno Bee
(Updated Saturday, August 21, 2004, 6:51 AM)

A woman was killed and three other people were wounded in a drive-by shooting
early Friday outside a home in northeast Fresno.

Police were not releasing the names of any of the people shot near Fashion
Fair mall, but one of them, Bo Patatian, is an aide to Assembly Member Steve
Samuelian, working out of Samuelian’s Fresno office. Patatian is in critical but
stable condition at University Medical Center.

Samuelian, R-Clovis, said Patatian, a staff assistant, underwent surgery and
is expected to recover. He reportedly was shot once in the abdomen and twice
in the shoulder or arm.

Another member of Samuelian’s staff, Lisa Hawkins, witnessed the shooting but
was not injured, Samuelian said. Hawkins is a field representative from
Kingsburg.

The two staffers had been out celebrating someone’s birthday and were among a
group of people outside a house when someone opened fire from a car,
Samuelian said.

Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said the shooting was reported in the 600
block of East Keats Avenue shortly after 2 a.m.

Two men and two women, all reportedly in their 20s, were hit by the gunfire
and taken to UMC where one of the women, a 27-year-old, died about two hours
later.

The other two victims were being treated for injuries described as not
life-threatening. Dyer declined to release any names pending further investigation.

The victims were outside a two-story home among a group of people, some of
whom reportedly had just walked back from a nearby nightclub, when the shooting
occurred.

A dark-colored car drove by and made a U-turn, and someone in the car started
shooting, Dyer said; it was not clear whether the car came to a stop or was
moving when shots were fired.

The car was last seen going west on Keats.

Dyer said a motive has not been determined and that it was not known whether
the shooter was aiming at a specific person or just shooting into a crowd.
Investigators were also trying to determine whether anything had occurred at the
nightclub that might have led to the shooting.

The club, On the Rocks, is a few blocks away on First Street just north of
Shaw Avenue.

A club employee who would not give his name said the group had rented a VIP
lounge to celebrate a woman’s birthday. Members of the group arrived between
10:30 and 11 p.m. and left at 1:45 a.m., he said. The employee also said there
were no disturbances at the club and that no one was escorted out by bouncers.

Dean Hoffinger, an events promoter in Fresno, said he has known people in
that group of friends for five years. Some attend his social events, he said.

“They’re people that are well-known,” he said. “They’re nice people. They
don’t cause problems.”

Sgt. Gregg Sanders said there was no reason for police to believe the
shooting had anything to do with Samuelian’s office.

“It may just be two people from his office that happened to be at the wrong
place at the wrong time,” he said.

Samuelian was in Sacramento early Friday when he found out about the
shooting. He drove to Fresno and visited Patatian in the hospital.

“Bo’s recovering very well. He’s a strong person,” he said. “I was able to
communicate, and he was able to communicate back.”

Samuelian said he did not know the woman who was killed.

“I am deeply saddened and trouble by that, and my sympathies and heart go out
to her family,” he said.

The shooting at the normally peaceful, well-groomed neighborhood left police
and residents shaking their heads.

Lt. Jose Garza said he couldn’t remember the last time police had been sent
to the neighborhood, and residents said the sound of gunshots was foreign to
them.

John Manson, 31, who lives across the street from where the shooting
occurred, said there was no mistaking what woke him and his roommate up from a sound
sleep: “I heard boom, boom, boom. I heard people screaming. I walked out the
door. … I thought I was dreaming. I saw people lying around.”

Manson said he could not believe the shooting was random.

“It was not just a drive-by. It was something that escalated and followed
them here,” he said. “This is a nice area. There has to be a motive.”

Another neighbor, a longtime resident who asked not to be identified, said he
also woke up to shots and screams.

The neighbor said he didn’t know too much about the residents of the home and
only knew one of them by his first name.

Around noon Friday, two men, who declined to comment, rinsed a path to the
front door of the shooting scene. Two women stopped by the house and dropped a
bouquet of flowers near the curb. They declined to be interviewed, but one of
them, apparently referring to the slain woman, described the victim as “full of
sunshine.”

The killing was the fifth slaying in the city since Sunday, bringing the
number of homicides this year to 38 — two more than the total for last year.

Samuelian said he was troubled “that this type of unfortunate incident can
happen in our community.”

“To think that violent criminals can prey on innocent victims as they did in
this case is very unfortunate,” he said.

Bee staff writers Vanessa Colón and Tim Eberly contributed to this report.
The reporters can be reached at [email protected],
[email protected] or (559) 441-6330.

Baku Today
Aug 31 2004

Akif Nagi Sentenced To 5 Years of Prison

Turan/Baku Today 31/08/2004 10:48

Nasimi court has pronounced its sentence to six members of the
Organization for Liberation of Karabakh (OLK), finding them guilty of
violation of public order, hooliganism and resistance to state
officers.

Judge Famil Nasibov sentenced OLK chairman Akif Nagi to 5 years in
jail; deputy chairman Firudin Mamedov to 3 years in jail; Ilkin
Gurbanov, Mursal Hasanov, Rovshan Fatiyev and Manaf Kerimov to 4
years in jail.

OLK activists and relatives of defendants protested this decision at
the court. They were forced out to the street and dispersed by polce.

On 21 June of this year, a group of OLK members staged a protest
against Armenian officers’ visit for participation in NATO conference
in Baku. During the rally in front of Grand Hotel Europe, OLK members
broke into lobby and conference hall where NATO conference was held.
The doors and windows were broken as the result. Simultaneously,
clashes started between participants in the action and policemen
around the hotel. Six participants in the rally were arrested by
police the next day.

Various political organizations and public activists made numerous
applications to the authorities and the Head of State requesting to
release OLK members, during investigation and trial. OLK is the only
organization in Azerbaijan raising public awareness of issues related
to Karabakh conflict. Th estimated membership in this organization is
more than 10,000.

Azerbaijani, Armenian foreign ministers to meet in Prague

Interfax
Aug 31 2004

Baku(Interfax) – Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammedyarov and
his Armenian counterpart Vardan Oskanian will meet in Prague on August
30 to discuss ways to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“During the meeting, the ministers will discuss the issue of settling
the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh,” the Azerbaijani
Foreign Ministry’s press service told Interfax on Monday.

Confidentiality will be one of the principles of the upcoming talks,
the ministry said.

Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh and seven neighboring
districts as a result of a conflict with Armenia in the early-1990s.
The UN Security Council has denounced Armenia’s occupation of
Azerbaijan’s territory and has called on Armenia to withdraw its
troops. The United States, Russia and France, as co-chairmen of
the OSCE Minsk Group, have been assisting Armenia and Azerbaijan in
settling their dispute.

MOSNEWS, Russia
Aug 31 2004

The Ingredients of Terror
Created: 30.08.2004 17:23 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 14:33 MSK, 2 hours
45 minutes ago

Georgy Bovt

How does terror become possible in a country? Actually, it is much
easier than you may think. Terror in our country became possible all
by itself. Our way of life, as it is, makes for terror.

Yes, there are Chechens each of whom has had one of his nearest and
dearest killed over the past ten years, someone dragged away by
camouflaged men, someone tortured, and someone raped. Hence, any of
them could seek revenge. Not everyone will, but any of them could.
The only exception, perhaps, are the members of the Grozny football
team Terek, where there are only a couple of ethnic Chechens.

And in this case it is not in the least bit necessary to go into the
moral and ethical particulars of who bears the blame, whether this
war is fair and why it is still on. It is too late to moralize now.
We have gone too far.

Even if the war was to end tomorrow in victory, their souls would
still crave for revenge. And for decades to come Chechens will have a
reason to kill Russians. As, for instance, Armenian rebels killed
Turks across the globe throughout the 20th century, taking revenge
for the massacres of 1915.

And there is no use pretending we do not understand it.

And there is no use pretending that following the “convincing
victory” of yet another Chechen president in yet another presidential
election the only news from Chechnya will be the reports of another
victory for the Grozny football team Terek or some other nonsense.
Maybe, those will be the main reports coming from the war-torn
province, but they are unlikely to be revealing the truth.

And there is no need to pretend that it is possible to regain the
Soviet-era’s confidence in the future by just bringing together all
the remains, symbols, all the fetishes — be it the old anthem, red
banners, holidays, Victory Day, films, secretary generals, etc — of
the glorious Soviet past.

That kind of confidence cannot be regained. Life will never again be
as carefree as it used to be in the era of stagnation, however hard
the Vremya news program on the state-controlled First Channel tries
to revive that era.

And there is no need pretending that it is enough to revive old fears
in people’s minds to re-establish the old ORDER. Fear is not a
prerequisite for order. And there is no need to pretend that we do
not know that…

The other day I took a ride on a trolley-bus. There were not many
people on it, and the streets were free from traffic. And then
suddenly the driver addressed the passengers with a somewhat unusual
request. He explained that he was not native to Moscow — judging by
his appearance he was a migrant from Tajikistan — and hence he did
not know the way. In other words, the driver did not know the route
and went astray at some intersection. He had not received the
necessary training, he was simply given a place behind the wheel and
told: “The passengers will show you the way themselves.”

You may ask what has this got to do with terror?

No direct link. However, at the same time it is absolutely clear that
in a country where a bus driver is given no adequate training before
he takes his seat behind the wheel on public transport anything can
blow up at anytime.

This goes for water parks. As far as I am concerned, I am convinced
that a roof over a water park where vodka is sold freely amid rather
dangerous attractions will sooner or later collapse. Indeed, there is
and cannot be any direct link between those things. But there is a
link of a different nature. There is some steel-and-concrete fatalism
that sooner or later results in disaster.

Take a look at any Russian airport. There are always slow-witted,
slovenly dressed cops who you would rather not address with a
request. Importunate taxi drivers, porters guarding trolleys that are
supposed to be free for travelers. Sullen female border guards too
preoccupied with choosing perfumes at the duty-free shops and
flirting with airport security men to notice anything going on around
them, and male guards too engrossed in doing business by purchasing
liquors from the same shops.

Someone is helping someone else to jump the queue at passport
control; someone is trying to accuse someone of not having declared
200 dollars or having brought too much luggage from abroad,
suspecting them of being a shuttle trader. Suspicions evaporate as
soon as the suspect produces a couple of green notes…

Is there any direct link between all that and terrorism?

None, whatsoever. There is no direct link. But still, there is
another kind of link. And that link is lethal. All that blends into
that very broth where terror emerges at the time most convenient for
the terrorists themselves.

Raising salaries for airport staff, giving them better uniforms and
beefing up security would not help. Is there really any need to
allocate extra budget funds and tighten security to spot a lone
Chechen woman buying a ticket at the eleventh hour — and this at the
height of the Chechen war? Is there any need for some special orders
from the president or the FSB for such women to be thoroughly checked
and searched before they are allowed on board?

No, but it was Tuesday evening, and the airport staff were too tired
to take any heed of suicide bombers who easily passed all security
checks. The man commanding the sniffer dogs had already left for
home. The cops were too preoccupied with spotting illegal migrants in
the crowd.

All those people together aided in the murder of nearly 90 innocent
people

I knew only one of them. Andrei Yermolayev, a flight engineer on the
Tu-154. His wife and adopted daughter had been so happy with him it
seemed such happiness could not be real. Maybe it was him who pushed
the SOS button before the contact with the jet was lost. Two hours
earlier someone at the airport failed to push the button.

Analysis: Armenia, Azerbaijan In Fresh Talks On Karabakh
By Harry Tamrazian

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
Aug 31 2004

Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian and his Azerbaijani
counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov met yesterday in the presence of
international mediators for a third time in as many months, but again
left no indications of an imminent breakthrough in the unresolved
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The daylong meeting again took place in the Czech capital Prague
and was attended by the French, Russian, and U.S. co-chairs of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk
Group. It was the first face-to-face encounter between Oskanian and
Mammadyarov since the envoys’ visit to the conflict zone last month.

“We are continuing what we began at our first meeting,” Oskanian told
RFE/RL during a lunchtime break in the talks. “Our main objective is
to create a common basis upon which we could build during further
negotiations. We are working toward that objective and I can’t say
we have achieved it,” he added.

Asked whether the two sides have made any progress in the last few
months, he said: “It’s a bit early to speak of common approaches. But
the dialogue is useful.”

While touring Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Nagorno-Karabakh in late July,
the mediators openly criticized the conflicting parties for their
perceived intransigence. The troika said bluntly that the onus is
on them, not the Minsk Group, to push the protracted peace process
forward.

The co-chairs were earlier said to be working on a new peace plan that
would try to combine the so-called step-by-step strategy of conflict
resolution preferred by Azerbaijan with the Armenian side’s insistence
on a package deal that would settle all issues simultaneously. But
they declined to comment on this report.