February 9, 2005 - 18:41 AMT
ROBERT SIMMONS: NATO HAS INITIATIVE ON KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

"NATO has an initiative on the Karabakh conflict settlement", NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for Caucasus and Central Asia Robert Simmons stated at the meeting with Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev. In his words, mid-February within the frames of the regional visit a NATO working group will arrive Baku for finding facts on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. He stressed that the conflict is dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Group, but gave to understand that NATO may get involved in the issue. According to him, during his stay in Baku he held rather efficient talks with the Azerbaijani leadership, including President Ilham Aliyev, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the head of the State Borderguard. One of the issues discussed was the problem of Nagorno Karabakh. "We are not mediators, we just examine the situation", he added.