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Ambassador Agshin Mehdiyev: â€œRecommendations made by the OSCE 2005 and 2010 fact-finding missions to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan remained â€œonly on paperâ€â€

10 February 2012 08:18 (UTC +04:00)

"OSCE had the potential to play a more consistent role in encouraging participating States to comply with their obligations and the 1974 OSCE Helsinki Final Act. OSCE provided a forum for discussions towards a settlement of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, sometimes mistakenly referred to as the â€œdisputeâ€ over Nagorno-Karabakh or the â€œconflictâ€ in Nagorno-Karabakh. The conflict was being addressed by the OSCE Minsk Group, as noted in four Security Council resolutions adopted in response to the illegal use of force against Azerbaijan and occupation of its territories, as well as the General Assembly resolution on the occupied territories of Azerbaijan", said Ambassador Mehdiyev, APA’s correspondent reports.

He also mentioned that Azerbaijan was committed to a negotiated conflict settlement, based on a formula of ending the illegal occupation of its territories, restoring its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the return of forcibly displaced persons and ensuring peaceful coexistence of Azerbaijanis and Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region within Azerbaijan.
"The lack of agreement on political issues could not be used as pretext for disregarding international law".

He was concerned that recommendations made by the OSCE 2005 and 2010 fact-finding missions to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan remained â€œonly on paperâ€ and nothing was being done to translate those into deeds.

The Ambassador expected the OSCE chairmanship to continue work on all conflict cycle elements. "Better interaction between OSCE and the United Nations would serve the greater unity of purpose in addressing transnational threats. Also, OSCE might provide a forum for addressing safety standards and timely decommissioning of ageing nuclear power plants", he said.