OSCE Chairman-in-Office meets President of Azerbaijan

NEW YORK, 24 September 2004 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy, discussed the role of the Organization in finding a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in New York on Thursday.

The Azerbaijani Head of State expressed gratitude to Minister Passy for the efforts of his Special Envoy, former Bulgarian Prime Minister Philip Dimitrov, to bring added impetus to the peace process for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabkah conflict.

The Azerbaijani President welcomed the active commitments of the OSCE with regard to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and expressed readiness to carry on active co-operation with representatives of the Organization.

The President said the OSCE and the Azerbaijani authorities occasionally took differing views of political developments in the country but added: "We are open for any kind of conversations. We realise that a lot in our country has to change and we are ready for constant direct dialogue."

The Chairman-in-Office briefed President Aliyev on the Bulgarian Chairmanship's proposals for reforms in the OSCE, including the possibility of shifting the Human Dimension Implementation meeting from Warsaw to the southern Caucasus.

President Aliyev welcomed the idea that Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia could take turns to host the meeting.