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By Trend

During the visit to the South Caucasus region, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs will urge the sides of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to build upon the reduction in tensions, OSCE told Trend.

“The Minsk Group co-chairs are visiting the region now, as a part of their mandate. During the visit they are reviewing the current situation in the region, urging the sides to build upon the reduction in tensions that has followed the arrangements reached by the leaders in Dushanbe in September, and discussing ways to intensify the negotiation process and other next steps,” said the organization.

The co-chairs remain actively engaged in helping the sides reach a negotiated peaceful settlement of the conflict and this visit is a continuation of those efforts, said OSCE.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries 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 districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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