By Trend
OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Slovakia’s Minister for Foreign and
European Affairs Miroslav Lajcak will visit Azerbaijan and Armenia
to discuss the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Lajcak made the remarks at a joint press conference with Russian
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Trend reports.
"I intend to visit Baku and Yerevan in the first half of March
to discuss these issues,” he said. “I have invitations from
Azerbaijan and Armenia."
Lajcak stressed that Slovakia supports the existing framework
for settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
“We fully support the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs,” he said. “I
regularly meet with them.”
“A new situation is observed in Armenia after the election,” he
said. “The expectations are connected with that. I would like my
visit to help determine what can be expected and what results can
be achieved. Our goal is to help the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to
take advantage of this new situation.”
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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