Russia accuses Washington and Paris of disregarding OSCE Minsk Group mandate
YEREVAN, June 22. /ARKA/. If Washington and Paris really considered the unique mediation format of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs important (for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict), they would not have allowed themselves to neglect the mandate approved by all participating states, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
"They defiantly interrupted, without any consultation, contacts with the Russian co-chairman on February 24 causing irreparable damage to the work of the troika. No intelligible explanations about the reasons for this outrageous step have been received yet. Similarly, there is no guarantee that such irresponsible actions will not be repeated. Pretending that nothing has happened is simply not an option, new realities have to be taken into account," Zakharova said.
Zakharova’s comment comes after U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried said late last week that the United States is willing to continue to cooperate with Russia in facilitating a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
In an interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service she said the U.S. continues to say that it supports the Minsk Group co-chair process.
“We continue to believe that it is a very important format, particularly on Nagorno-Karabakh, and it is essential that we keep various formats in play to try to advance peace. And we will continue to do that going forward,” she said.
Asked whether Washington is ready for fresh contacts with Moscow for that purpose, Donfried said: “Yes. Russia is a Minsk Group co-chair. France, the U.S. and Russia would continue in that format.”
According to Maria Zakharova, the Russian side is interested in normalizing relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia and cannot allow politicized steps by some external players to undermine the difficult efforts to establish peace and stability in the region.
She assured that Russia will do its best for unconditional fulfillment of obligations and tasks, which were recorded in the statements of the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia.
On April 8, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a joint press conference with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan that the United States and France "in a Russophobe frenzy… have cancelled the co-chairing troika of the OSCE Minsk Group.’
He added: “If they are ready to sacrifice the interests -- in this case of the Armenian side -- of settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh and the South Caucasus as a whole, it’s their choice.”
In a following statement the State Department said the U.S. stands ready to support Armenia and Azerbaijan in these initiatives, including through our capabilities within the OSCE Minsk Group." -0-
