Visit of Co-Chairs of OSCE Minsk Group to Nagorno-Karabakh faces protest

The visit of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group to the Kashatag District of the breakaway and non-recognized Nagorno-Karabakh was met by a protest of local residents against the principles of conflict settlement proposed by James Warlick, the US Co-Chair of the above Group.

The action held on May 17 in Berdzor, the centre of the Kashatag District, was attended by about 200 people. It was organized by the local office of the youth wing of the ARF "Dashnaktsutyun".

The report by James Warlick, in which he presented ways of settling the Karabakh conflict, was made public this May at the Carnegie International Foundation. As explained to the organizers of the protest action, their indignation was aroused by six Warlick's points, in particular, those saying that "the conquered territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh shall be returned under Azerbaijan's control," "the internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees shall have the right to return to their former places of residence" and "it is necessary to ensure international guarantees of security, including a peacekeeping operation."

Mediators are biased in treating the Karabakh problem, forgetting about Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan and Karabakh lands currently controlled by Azerbaijan, Artak Mkhoyan, a Berdzor resident and a veteran of the Karabakh war, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.