OSCE fact-finding mission goes to Karabakh

An OSCE fact-finding mission set off for Stepanakert on January 30 to collect facts about the creation of Armenian settlements in seven districts of Azerbaijan adjacent to Nagorny Karabakh and controlled by Armenia. The mission plans to go from the capital of Nagorny Karabakh to these districts every day during a week or so spending one day for each district, reported a Caucasian Knot correspondent in Armenia. The OSCE monitoring group, consisting of 17 people and led by head of the OSCE department of the German Federal Foreign Office Emily Haber, is expected to start its work today and will work in Nagorny Karabakh for 10 days. The mission is aimed at finding out if there are Armenian settlers in these seven districts, when they appeared there, what the reason for it was, etc. The group will draw up a technical report, not a political one, Ms Habber said.

The OSCE fact-finding mission was formed after Azerbaijan had lodged a protest with the United Nations that Armenia carried out a policy of resettling the territory around Nagorny Karabakh. Negotiations for the resolution of the Karabakh conflict turned out to be under threat of frustration because of it. Azerbaijan removed its question from the agenda of the UN General Assembly upon request of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries. In exchange for it, the decision was made to form a monitoring group within the OSCE to verify the facts presented by the Azerbaijan side.