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The rejection of one of the two anti-Armenian reports by PACE is really a victory, Head of the Organization for Security and Co operation in Europe (OSCE) Yerevan Office Ambassador Andrei Sorokin told a press conference today.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on January 26 voted on two reports:  “Inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water” – a scandalous report prepared by Milica Markovic, MP from Bosnia and Herzegovina - was adopted by 98 votes to 71, with 40 abstentions. Another controversial report that drew a wide response - “Escalation of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh and the other occupied territories of Azerbaijan” prepared by British MP Robert Walter who holds Turkish citizenship was rejected in a 66-77 vote.

“PACE yesterday debated the reports that were quite unpleasant and harsh for the Armenian side. It is a good thing that one of them has been removed from the agenda. It is really a victory,” A. Sorokin said.
“We know what kind of situation (unfortunately) exists in PACE now. And the Armenian side also had tough approaches. Alas, it was impossible to remove one of the reports from the agenda. But the rejection of the other was great progress, in my opinion,” the ambassador said.

In his words, PACE is cashing in on ithe principles that have been also accepted by OSCE. Yet OSCE stated that a settlement of the Karabakh conflict is possible only within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group.

“Germany is also a member of the OSCE. Germany will work more actively to smooth over such conflict situations,” Sorokin said in conclusion.

To remind, Germany assumed the rotating OSCE Chairmanship on January 1, 2016.