QUESTION: Mr. Balayan, the Azerbaijani side has stated that they have sent to the OSCE Secretariat a letter, which speaks about changing the Minsk Group Co-Chairs or changing its modalities. Your comments?

MR. BALAYAN: Unlike Mr. Azimov’s statement, the letter that Azerbaijan has sent to the OSCE is aimed at dissolving the institution of the Minsk Group. This was done even before the passage of the Azerbaijani resolution at the UN General Assembly. The letter clearly shows that the statements and actions of Azerbaijani officials are in contradiction to their stated commitments to continue the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process by peaceful means. Another evidence of that is that they thwarted the meeting of the Armenian President-elect and President Aliyev at the Bucharest NATO summit 2008.
 
We agree with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and express hope that this step and Mr. Azimov’s viewpoint do not reflect the position of Azerbaijan’s top officials.