From: Daria Solovieva (dsolovieva@sorosny.org)
Date: Thu Feb 05 2004 - 12:52:04 EST
Meeting on 4 February in Baku with an OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
delegation headed by Goran Lennmarker, Ilham Aliyev expressed regret
that the OSCE Minsk Group has not succeeded in proposing an acceptable
solution to the Karabakh conflict, according to Turan and to ANS TV, as
cited by Groong. In a lengthy interview with "Izvestiya" published the same
day, Aliyev similarly said he hopes the Minsk Group "will adopt constructive
decisions" and will not become "a group of observers." He stressed that any
solution to the conflict must provide for the liberation of territory currently
occupied by Armenian forces and preserve Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.
Speaking in Moscow on 4 February, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman
Aleksandr Yakovenko reaffirmed Russia's readiness to help resolve the
Karabakh conflict, ITAR-TASS reported. "Moscow believes it is necessary
to convince the parties to the conflict that they are capable of reaching a
mutually acceptable understanding," Yakovenko said. LF
President Aliyev signed a decree on 4 February on the construction of new
settlements to house some 4,000 families of displaced persons from
Armenian-occupied districts of Azerbaijan adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh
who have been living in tent camps and railroad cars for the past decade,
Turan and ITAR-TASS reported. The settlements will be provided with water
mains, electricity, schools, and medical facilities and will be financed from
the State Oil Fund. LF
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