During talks on 23 April in Baku with Azerbaijani Defense Minister Colonel General Safar Abiev, U.S. Ambassador Steven Mann, who is the U.S. co-Chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, said that Azerbaijan should make concessions in the interests of reaching a solution to the Karabakh conflict. Mann pointed out that the situation in both Armenia and Azerbaijan will remain \"grave\" if the search for a settlement drags on for years. Abiev for his part argued that Armenia, as \"the aggressor,\" should be punished, and that it is unacceptable that the international community apply \"double standards\" by intervening militarily in former Yugoslavia (to protect the Kosovar Albanians) but failing to do so over Nagorno-Karabakh. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry press service quoted Abiev as saying that \"Azerbaijan will not make any concessions.\" (Turan)