AZERBAIJAN MISLED PACE RAPPORTEUR ON NAGORNO KARABAKH

The visit of Terry Davis, the rapporteur on Nagorno Karabakh of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to the conflict region planned for July, 2003 was postponed because of the demand produced by the Azeri party to visit Nagorno Karabakh from the territory of Azerbaijan exclusively. Otherwise, the Azeri party stated, “it will not undertake security of the PACE rapporteur at the Nagorno Karabakh territory”. Terry Davis told about it at the sitting of the PACE monitoring group held November 5 in Paris, adding that he did not wish his visit to provoke political speculation. In this view, head of the Armenian delegation in the PACE, chairman of the Armenian NA commission for foreign issues Armen Rustamian elucidated in PACE that the Azeri party misled Terry Davis. “Nagorno Karabakh being a sovereign territory is able to provide security of the foreign citizens at its territory and no other country has the right of doing that”, – Armenian parliamentarian stated. In Rustamian’s words, Terry Davis’s visit will take place in 2004, for his report on Nagorno Karabakh is to be discussed during the PACE spring or summer session.