Nagorno Karabakh is a party to conflict, and it is impossible to deny this fact, OSCE Minsk Group co-chair Yuri Merzlyakov told journalists in Stepanakert yesterday. At the same time he noted that the international mediators for Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement should not be urged to reconsider the format of the negotiations, for it is the prerogative of the conflicting sides. At that, the Russian diplomat refuted the reports by the Azeri press that first deputy to the Russian foreign minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov during his visit to Baku stated Armenia as an aggressor. "It is only the fantasy of an Azeri journalist", - he said. To remind, yesterday OSCE co-chairs Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia), Rudolf Perina (US) and Anri Jakolen (France) negotiated with Nagorno Karabakh President Arkadi Ghukasian, who stated about NKR's readiness for talks on all the issues without any preconditions. It should be also noted that before leaving Nagorno Karabakh, French co-chair Anri Jakolen paid a short visit to the town of Shushi, though the visit has not been planned. The co-chair did not meet with anyone in Shushi, but got acquainted with the town's places of interest.