98^th Plenary Meeting

Agenda Item 40, "The situation in the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan"

Mr. President,

The draft resolution at hand addresses an issue, which we thought had been brought to a close, two weeks ago, through discussions with the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, the Minsk Group Co-chairs and the OSCE Chairman-in-Office's Personal Representative. A decision was taken to send a mission of experts under the OSCE to assess the fires.

The authorities of Nagorno Karabagh had already accepted this proposal, and Armenia was certainly ready to use its good offices to facilitate such a mission. It was our understanding that Azerbaijan had also agreed.

Given all this, it was surprising to see a draft resolution circulating at the UN on this same issue, especially since it called for a parallel mission under the UN auspices.

This approach was unacceptable. We considered such a step to be an obstacle to continuing negotiations. And, since it was clearly intended to pursue other political ends, Armenia opposed this motion.

However, as a result of our consultations with the Minsk Group Co-chairs, we have come to agreement on a text that simply reiterates support for the OSCE mission. In this regard we would like to welcome the readiness of all the parties to negotiate in the spirit of compromise under the able and very effective mediation of the Minsk Group Co-chairs.

Nevertheless, although we support the content of the agreement, we continue to remain opposed to the general idea of this agenda item and a UN resolution under it. That is the reason Armenia dissociates itself from the consensus on this resolution.

Thank you, Mr. President.