“I assure you I have never taken any money from any government, although one of the members of the delegations of your country had included my name in the list of corrupt delegates”, expressed his outrage the British delegate of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Robert Walter.
He informed that he had prepared reports on Macedonia, Hungary and other states, had even been in Armenia on observation mission during the previous presidential elections, but has never taken anything from any state. Recall that Robert Walter is the author of the disputable report entitled “Violence Increase in Nagorno-Karabakh and other Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan”, which was rejected by PACE. And he was being criticized back then as if he was an Azerbaijani lobbyist and was bribed by Aliyev’s regime.
We asked the British delegate how it was decided that the report should have been made exactly by him, whether he had expressed his wish. Robert Walter told: “Firstly, the Assembly decided that such report is to be prepared, the Commission of Human Rights chose me in its part as a reporter, forasmuch as I told I have good friends in Yerevan, a set of ministers, Edward Nalbandian encompassed. I have had dinner at their place along with him and his wife. But now Edward Nalbandian does not speak to me. I am very upset.”
Mr. Walter told that he is very upset and is disappointed as the Armenian side did not cooperate with him, meanwhile he wanted to report a balanced report: “I thought I was the best friend of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of your country until him and his friends started attacking me. They did this even before I would write the report, they did not let me come to Yerevan: unceasingly both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Parliament reasoned as if the visit is not convenient at that time and they would organize throughout 6 months. Thus we did not cooperate.”
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In response to the reasoning as if the Armenian side had information implying that he is bribed and it is initially decided that the report will be in favor of Azerbaijan and not counterbalanced, this is why he did not want to cooperate, Mr. Walter again justified himself as he has never been engaged in a corruption scandal and has never been bribed: “I thought my friends in Armenia would help me to write the report. But they did not cooperate forasmuch as they thought that report was never to be written at all. They reasoned as if that report would disturb the operations of OSCE Minsk Group.”
We reminded him that solely Minsk Group possesses a mandate to settle the Karabakh conflict indeed, and today whether the report made by him would not disturb the settlement process, to which Mr. Walters responded: “I discussed this issue with OSCE Minsk Group and Secretariat, they did not see any problem. The report was not on Karabakh conflict settlement issues, but the ceasefire regime violations.”
Mr. Walters is disappointed that during 23 years the OSCE Minsk Group has not found a path to resolution: “But it is not me who should decide NKR status, this is the issue of both sides.”
According to Robert Walter – the Karabakh conflict settlement is in the hands of the co-chairs of Minsk Group, both governments, and presidents. We asked whether he was in favor of the report he prepared, Mr. Walter replied: “Of course not. I wanted to hear Armenian side’s opinion alike, for my report to be more balanced, but they did not wish to meet me. And unfortunately, the view of the third side lacks in my report, I am disappointed.”
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
