Azernews.Az

By Gunay Hasanova

Italy has announced that it will keep focus on resolution of protracted conflicts, including the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, during its presidency in the OSCE.

“Resolution of the conflicts in the OSCE area (Nagorno-Karabakh, Georgia and Transnistria), migrant and refugee flow problem and strengthening of relations with the Mediterranean countries will be the core of the agenda during our Presidency,” said Paolo Gentiloni, Italian Foreign Minister and future chairman of the OSCE.

Italy will chair the OSCE in 2018, while Austria will chair the organization in 2017.

Earlier, the German chairmanship also asserted that Germany favors the intensification of the negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

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.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

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