OSCE Minsk Group plans to organize presidential meeting
By Sara Rajabova
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have completed another visit to South Caucasus region with an aim to reduce the recent aggravated tensions on the contact line of Armenian-Azerbaijani troops.
“The main purpose of the co-chairs’ visit was to appeal to the sides to strictly adhere to the ceasefire after a dangerous rise in violence in January,” the Minsk Group co-chairs said in a statement issued on February 20.
The situation aggravated on the contact line of Armenia-Azerbaijani troops as a result of the constant ceasefire breaches by the Armenian armed forces that left losses on both sides.
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, James Warlick (U.S.), Pierre Andrieu (France) and Igor Popov (Russia) traveled to the region on February 16-19. They were joined by the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador AndrzejKasprzyk.
OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen met with the Presidents, Foreign Ministers, and Defense Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as the de facto authorities in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh.
During the visit to both capitals, the co-chairs submitted proposals to the presidents to reinforce ceasefire regime. Earlier, Elmar Mammadyarov, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister told local media that the co-chairs visited region with new proposals. The society will be informed about the proposals after government’s consideration.
“In their discussions with the co-chairs, the sides confirmed their commitment to the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The presidents also agreed to consider proposals from the co-chairs that could strengthen the ceasefire,” according to the OSCE statement.
The precarious cease-fire between Azerbaijan and Armenia was reached after a lengthy war that displaced over a million Azerbaijanis in1994. Since the beginning of the hostilities, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions.
Peace talks, mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. through the OSCE Minsk Group, are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles. The negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.
The co-chairs are also intended to organize new meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents.
The co-chairs talked with the presidents and foreign ministers in Baku and Yerevan on the next steps towards a settlement, as well as preparations for a future presidential meeting later this year.
The last meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents took place in Paris, France. On the initiative of French President Francois Hollande, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President SerzhSargsyan held a meeting on October 27 with the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen to discuss the settlement process of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
During a trip to the region the co-chairs also met with representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross. They discussed issues related to missing persons as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
They noted the importance of the agreement reached during the Presidential Summit in Paris to exchange information on missing persons under the auspices of the ICRC, according co-chairs’ statement.
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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
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