Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier has expressed concern over the lack of progress in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.

"When it comes to Nagorno-Karabakh everyone is concerned about the absence of progress, and the deterioration of the situation on the ground, with 28 people killed only this year," Zannier said in an interview with Russian news agency Interfax on Tuesday.

"I personally share this concern. We continue to support the efforts of the [OSCE] Minsk Group and its co-chairs -- Russia, France and the U.S. [brokering Karabakh settlement]."

According to him, no international efforts can be effective if there is no political will on both sides to negotiate a peaceful solution.

"This is what I stressed during my recent meetings with the respective foreign ministers in New York. Returning to the substance of the negotiations and looking ahead are the only ways to prevent escalation and bring the long-awaited security to the region," Zannier added.

The Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The two South Caucasus neighbors fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a precarious cease-fire in 1994. Armenian armed forces have since occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on its pullout from Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven surrounding regions.

Mediators plan Karabakh ministerial

The OSCE mediators intend to organize a meeting between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Paris shortly. The date of Elmar Mammadyarov and Edward Nalbandyan's meeting is yet to be scheduled.

The Russian co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Igor Popov, told Azerbaijani media that negotiations with both foreign ministers are ongoing and expressed hope that the ministerial will take place this week. Depending on the outcome of the meeting the Minsk Group co-chairs plan to visit the region.

Pascal Meunier, the French Ambassador in Baku, said earlier that preparations are underway to organize a meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian ministers. Meunier said he was unaware of details regarding the venue and date of the meeting. He also confirmed that Paris is making all efforts possible to resume contacts between Baku and Yerevan to advance a settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

"The co-chairs will continue to maintain contacts with the sides to ease tensions and advance the peace process," they said.

The Minsk Group, established in 1992, has been working to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the bitter conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Peace talks have been largely fruitless so far.

Armenian drills in occupied land

Armenian armed forces have staged three-week-long military exercises in the Azerbaijani occupied territories. The drills, which ended on Tuesday, were attended by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

The Armenian president's press service reported that during his visit to the occupied land Sargsyan was accompanied by Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan and other senior military officials.

Sargsyan visited the positions on the contact line with Azerbaijani troops and familiarized himself with the military drills of the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh army".

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry has expressed its stance on the military exercises.

"There are no reasons for concern," the ministry's deputy spokesman, Teymur Abdullayev, told Trend news agency. "A time will come and they will not be able to move in Karabakh."

The military exercises were strongly condemned by Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry as well.

"President Sargsyan's visit to the territories occupied by Armenia is a violation of all international rights," spokesman Elman Abdullayev said at a briefing on Wednesday.

Referring to the atrocities committed during the Karabakh war, Abdullayev stressed that the Armenian president must understand that the crimes against humanity will not go unpunished.

"The individuals who committed those acts will be brought before an international court of law," he said.