Yuri Merzlyakov: "After the meeting of the presidents negotiations will be continued previous format"

This information was given to APA exclusively by the Russian co-chairman of the Minsk Group of OSCE Yuri Merzlyakov. He called the negotiations conducted with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov on April 27 in Frankfurt, very advantageous and efficient.

Yuri Merzlyakov saying "We have worked well" noted that at present the co-chairmen tackled with organizing of the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Vardan Oskanyan. According to his words, they work on the variants of planning the place and time of the meeting to be held: "The meeting could either be spent in Moscow or in Warsaw 2 days before the summit of Council of Europe, or in one of the cities of Europe". After the meeting with Oskanyan, he didn't exclude conducting the next meeting between Azerbaijan and Armenia presidents Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharyan about regulating the Upper Garabagh conflict on May 16-17 in the frame of the summit of state heads of Council of Europe.

"After the meeting of the presidents we will return to the previous format - to the format of negotiations carried out between both the Ministers of Foreign Affairs" -Yuri Merzlyakov stressed.

Yuri Merzlyakov stating his relation to forming the Committee according to Upper Garabagh at the Assembly of Parliament of Council of Europe recently he didn't agree with the opinion of identity of this committee and the Minsk Group: "Forming of such committee was put forward in the report of David Atkinson. The secretary general of Council of Europe declared that this committee cannot replace the Minsk Group, and its main task is connected with human rights".

He also stated that the co-chairmen aren't going to visit the region recently.