AZERBAIJAN TRIES TO DIVERT INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ATTENTION FROM KEY ISSUE IN KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

Initiated by Azerbaijan, the UN General Committee recommended the inclusion of the item “On the situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan” in the UN 59-th session agenda. Commenting on that Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hamlet Gasparian noted that although the question is not unconditionally supported by the organization member states, based on the outcomes of the vote (9 in favor with none against and 14 abstentions out of 28 Committee member states) the issue is included in the session agenda. Mainly members of the Islamic Conference Organization and Ukraine voted in favor. “We evaluate the move by Azerbaijan as a recurrent attempt to divert the international community attention from the key issue in the Karabakh settlement – the Nagorno Karabakh status. We consider necessary to note that in his speech French representative thereupon stated on behalf of the OSCE Minsk Group that the General Assembly session is not a convenient forum for discussing the issue. It was also noted that the inclusion of the new item in the agenda can have a negative impact on the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh problem,” H. Gasparian said.