Baku urges OSCE chief to step up Minsk Group's mediation efforts
By Nigar Orujova
Azerbaijan has urged the OSCE head to intensify the activity of the Minsk Group, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told media after a meeting on July 8 with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara, who arrived in Azerbaijan a day earlier.
The Minsk Group, co-chaired by France, the United States and Russia, has been mediating peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia since the two South Caucasus republics signed a precarious cease-fire in 1994 following a lengthy war. About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts, has been occupied by Armenian armed forces since then. Peace talks have been largely fruitless so far.
According to Mammadyarov, the sides thoroughly discussed the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"As the OSCE chair, Ukraine constantly pays attention to this issue," he said. "More frequent meetings of the [Minsk Group] co-chairmen may help to resolve the conflict."
"I have informed my counterpart about the negotiations. We are planning another meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen in the near future. At present, the main problem is the presence of the Armenian troops in the territory of Azerbaijan. They must be withdrawn," Mammadyarov said.
"Azerbaijan adheres to a peaceful settlement of the conflict on the basis of the Madrid principles and, of course, is waiting for work on a major peace agreement on the conflict settlement to be launched as soon as possible," he said.
Kozhara in turn told media that Ukraine is interested in the intensification of the Minsk Group's activity, which has recently somewhat subsided.
One of the main issues of the Ukrainian OSCE chairmanship is the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Kozhara said.
"We are concerned over the problem of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement and we support the Minsk Group's activity," he said. "We also consider it necessary to step up its activity."
According to Kozhara, Kiev will support meetings of Azerbaijani and Armenian communities and humanitarian contacts in every possible way, as such meetings can facilitate a solution of the conflict.
Peace talks are underway on the basis of the peace outline dubbed the Madrid Principles, also known as Basic Principles. The document envisions a return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control; determining the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh; a corridor linking Armenia to the region; and the right of all internally displaced persons to return home.