Envoy: Germany makes efforts to resume Karabakh negotiation process
By Rashid Shirinov
Germany strongly supports the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, German Ambassador to Azerbaijan Michael Kindsgrab told journalists on October 4.
He mentioned that Germany, currently presiding the OSCE, is a member of the organization’s Minsk Group, recalling that OSCE chairman-in-office, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has visited Azerbaijan this summer.
“Of course, Germany is making efforts to resume the negotiation process on the settlement of the conflict,” Kindsgrab said, adding that Steinmeier also strongly noted that Germany supports the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict peacefully.
Armenia's territorial claims in the late 1980s accompanied with bitter military aggression resulted in the occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh, and seven surrounding regions. More than a million Azerbaijanis became refugees and IDPs in the aftermath of the war between the two South Caucasus republics.
Kindsgrab went on to say that “we understand that the status quo is unacceptable in the current situation.”
“We are in a constant contact with Azerbaijan and Armenia and we try to involve them in goal-oriented negotiations for the conflict to be resolved and not to flare up again," Kindsgrab concluded.
While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, it failed to make any move to achieve a breakthrough in the peace process.
The current co-chairs of the Minsk Group are Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation; Pierre Andrieu of France; and James Warlick of the United States of America. The Group’s permanent members are Belarus, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and Turkey, as well as Armenia and Azerbaijan.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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