March 25, 2004 - 17:58 AMT
OFFICIAL BAKU REFUSED FROM COMING MEETING OF FOREIGN MINISTERS OF ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN IN PRAGUE
The Prague meeting of Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan over settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, scheduled March 29, will not be held. As Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Yuri Merzlyakov told ATV Baku TV channel, the decision to cancel the meeting was made taking into account "the wishes of one of the parties." "Those, who accuse the mediators in inaction, should just pay attention to the efforts of the parties to conflict," Y. Merzlyakov said. Meanwhile, as an informed source from the Armenian Foreign Ministry told Mediamax news agency, the Armenian party did not suggest that the mediators give up holding the meeting. It should be noted that yesterday Azeri President Ilham Aliyev leveled criticism at the OSCE Minsk Group activities. "During the 12 years of its activities, one can say, the Minsk Group did not make any positive steps," he said. In Aliyev's opinion, the current position of the Minsk mediators cannot play a positive role, as it comes out not in solving the problem, but particularly observing it.