NATO seminar in Baku may be frustrated

"The racket about Armenian deputies' participation in the Rose-Roth Seminar planned to be conducted by the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Baku next month is ungrounded," Ziyafet Askerov, Deputy Chairman of Milli Mejlis (Parliament) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Head of the National Delegation of Azerbaijan to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, stated. "We've protested against Armenian officers' participation in NATO maneuvers recently. But let's not forget that the holding of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Rose-Roth Seminar in Baku is an index of confidence in our country," he added. 80 deputies from almost 40 countries are expected to attend the seminar, and the approved agenda of the seminar has already been sent to the Azerbaijan side, the vice speaker pointed out. Issues of South Caucasian security will be discussed first, as well as the Karabakh conflict and the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group. The issue of the status of Caspian Sea is on the agenda too.

Meantime, the opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front Party considers the Armenian deputies' arrival in Baku for the participation in the Rose-Roth Seminar inadmissible. The party's press release reads that activists of this organization are going to hold actions of protest in front of Milli Majlis and embassies of NATO Member Countries in Baku. The Organization for Karabakh Liberation has also voiced its discontent about the arrival of Armenian parliamentarians.