OSCE MG co-chairs call on Karabakh conflict parties to intensify negotiations
By Rashid Shirinov
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have called on the parties to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to intensify negotiations.
They made the remarks in a statement issued on September 27, following their separate and joint meetings with the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers in New York on the margins of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly. Andrzej Kasprzyk, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, also joined the meetings.
The ministers continued negotiations on the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
“The co-chairs and the ministers discussed the situation in the region and sought clarification with respect to several recent statements and incidents of concern. The co-chairs expressed deep regret over the continuing and unnecessary loss of life,” the statement reads.
They also cautioned the ministers about the dangers of escalation, called on the parties to engage constructively in a positive atmosphere, and to avoid inflammatory rhetoric. The co-chairs underscored that a comprehensive settlement will require compromises on all sides.
“In this context, the ministers reaffirmed the importance of measures to enhance the negotiation process and to take additional measures to reduce tensions. The ministers agreed to meet again before the end of the year,” the statement says.
The co-chairs also noted that they plan to visit the region in the near future and will then brief the OSCE Minsk Group and the Permanent Council on the status of negotiations.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region 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. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.
Until now, Armenia controls fifth part of Azerbaijan’s territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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