22 Feb 2018 19:46

Azerbaijan rejects agreement to expand OSCE's mission in Karabakh crisis area - Armenian FM

YEREVAN. Feb 22 (Interfax) - Azerbaijan does not want to implement the agreement on expanding the OSCE chair-in-office's personal representative's office, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said.

Nalbandian said at a meeting with EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Toivo Klaar that the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers have reached an agreement to enlarge the OSCE mission at a meeting in Cracow, the Armenian Foreign Ministry's press service reported.

"In this connection, Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group's co-chairs have issued almost the same statements, but Azerbaijan does not yet cite this agreement. When the co-chairs visited Baku several days ago, Azerbaijan again refused to fulfil this agreement," Nalbandian said.

The intermediaries again stated the need to honor their obligations following the visit to the region, he said.

Nalbandian stressed the importance of the EU's consistent stance and facilitation to the OSCE Minsk Group's mediating efforts to settle the Karabakh crisis, specifically to the principles of the non-use of force, territorial integrity and the right for self-determination.

"Baku's mania for wishful thinking led to Azerbaijan distorting even the EU's principled approaches," the Armenian foreign minister said.