Hikmat Hajiyev: "Minsk Group has no mandate or function in Azerbaijani-Armenian relations"

"The Minsk Group is in the process of self-liquidation. The Minsk Group itself has made statements in various directions and formats that it is impossible for the three countries to come together for one reason or another, especially in the context of the events in Ukraine," Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan - Head of the Foreign Policy Department under the Presidential Administration, has said.

According to him, this was clearly stated by an official of one of those countries:

"Statements made by the Minsk Group co-chairs also state that the representatives, dispatched to the region, have no longer the status of co-chairs, but other ones. This makes it impossible for the Minsk Group to operate in this format. Azerbaijan also constantly raised the issue that there is no more conflict, the conflict has been resolved, and there is a new direction of relations in the region, which is the Armenian-Azerbaijani ones. In the Azerbaijani-Armenian relations, the Minsk Group does not have any mandate or a mandate-carrying function. Therefore, Azerbaijan has always said what the Minsk Group can do and it should present a road map. In the post-war period, the Minsk Group has once again proved that it is unable to present such a document."