In a statement released by the NKR Foreign Ministry, commenting on the coverage in the Azerbaijani press and views expressed by various Azerbaijani officials regarding the recent visit to Karabakh by a delegation of Azeri and Armenian intellectuals, the ministry says that the NKR has once again showed its goodwill by allowing the delegation to travel to Karabakh. The delegation included Polad Bulbuloglu, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Russia, Armen Smbatian, the Armenian ambassador in Moscow and Mikhail Shvydkoy, a former Russian culture minister who acted on behalf of President Dmitry Medvedev. The foreign ministry statement also reported that the route taken by the delegation had been changed upon the demand of the NKR government and that Azerbaijani parliamentary deputy Khavva Mamedova and Chingiz Ismailov were removed from the delegation were not allowed to accompany the delegation due to their pronounced anti-Karabakh and anti-Armenian positions. The statement notes that given the interest shown by official Baku regarding the visit there are strong grounds to infer that the Azeri government is seeking ways to drastically alter the course of the negotiations and to enter direct talks with the NKR without the assistance of outside mediators. The NKR Foreign Ministry says that there is no alternative to such an approach.