Azerbaijani FM, OSCE mediators mull Karabakh peace deal
By Vafa Ismayilova
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs mediating the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict met in the format of a video conference on February 16 to discuss the Karabakh peace deal, the Foreign Ministry has reported.
Bayramov and the co-chairs Igor Popov (Russian Federation),
Stéphane Visconti (France), Andrew Schofer (USA) and Personal
Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk have
discussed the current regional situation and the implementation of
the trilateral statements of November 10, 2020, and January 11,
2021, signed by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders.
The meeting stressed the importance of restoring trust and peaceful
coexistence to ensure lasting regional peace and security, the
report added.
On the same day, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs released a statement which said that they had spoken separately by video conference with the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers on February 16.
"The co-chairs engaged with each minister in a lengthy and substantive exchange of views on issues related to the promotion of stability in the region, the modalities of the mediation process, and the role of the PRCiO [Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office]," the statement said.
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France had been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Group’s efforts resulted in no progress as Armenia refused to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions.
The trilateral peace deal signed by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders on November 10, 2020, ended the 30-year-old conflict between Baku and Yerevan over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region that along with the seven adjacent regions came under the occupation of Armenian armed forces in the war in the 1990s. For nearly three decades, Armenia failed to implement the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) demanding the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of its troops, which was the main obstacle to the resolution of the conflict.
On January 11, 2021, the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders signed the second statement since the end of the 44-day war. The newly-signed statement is set to implement clause 9 of the November 2020 statement related to the unblocking of all economic and transport communications in the region.
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