BAKU. June 19 (Interfax) - The OSCE Minsk Group is wrong by laying the blame for the fact that the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh remains unresolved on all parties to the conflict, says Ali Akhmedov, a deputy chairman and executive secretary of the ruling party Yeni Azerbaijan (New Azerbaijan).
"The reason why the conflict has remained unresolved for twenty years is mostly due to the fact that the Minsk Group, which has undertaken the obligation to facilitate the settlement of the problem, has failed to accomplish its peacemaking mission," Akhmedov said in commenting on a joint statement by the Russian, U.S. and French leaders on Nagorno-Karabakh they made on Tuesday.
The part of the statement in which the three leaders expressed their concerns about the fact that the conflict has still not been resolved can be viewed basically positively, he said.
"This can be assessed positively in terms that the major states, the Minsk Group co-chairs, have not forgotten about the need to settle the conflict. But at the same time, on the other hand, the conflict has still not been settled, despite the fact that efforts to this end that have been continuing for more than 20 years. No changes have occurred in the living conditions of more than one million Azeri refugees, who have still been unable to return to their homes. Historical justice has not been restored. Therefore, it is unclear exactly who the Minsk Group, which has failed to accomplish its mission, wants to accuse. The logic is hard to understand," Akhmedov said.
Until the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs demand that the occupied Azeri lands be freed, it will be impossible to move ahead in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande issued a joint statement concerning the settlement of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh while meeting at a G8 summit at the Lough Erne Resort on Tuesday, in which they, in particular, called on the parties to the negotiating process "to focus with renewed energy on the issues that remain unresolved."