Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs brokering settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan issued a statement in Paris on Saturday after a meeting of the two ministers.

The Azerbaijani minister, Elmar Mammadyarov, and Armenia's Edward Nalbandyan had held a meeting earlier in the day to seek ways to peacefully settle the two South Caucasus neighbors' bitter conflict that has been unresolved for over two decades.

The Minsk Group co-chairs -- Robert Bradtke of the U.S., Jacques Faure of France and Igor Popov of Russia -- attended the meeting, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported.

Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk participated in the meeting as well.

During the talks the parties voiced their concern over the overall situation with the Karabakh conflict and mulled changing the status quo and solutions to the outstanding issues. They expressed their willingness to continue seeking a peaceful solution to the conflict.

The meeting also discussed the co-chairs' visit to the region, which is scheduled for late November.

In turn, the Minsk Group co-chairs stressed to the ministers the importance of defusing tensions between the conflict parties. The mediators proposed their ideas on a working proposal to advance the peace process, says the statement of the co-chairs and the two ministers.

The foreign ministers reiterated their determination to continue working with the co-chairs to achieve a peaceful settlement of the lingering conflict. The ministers and the co-chairs agreed to discuss these ideas during the co-chairs' upcoming visit to the region, the statement said.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The two countries 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.

'Serious changes' needed in MG format

An Azerbaijani ruling party official has said a fair settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be found, and also cited the need for a change in the format of the mediating Minsk Group.

"The purpose of the negotiations within the Minsk Group is the practical help to resolve the conflict. The conflict has not been resolved over more than 20 years, and if some entity cannot fulfill its obligations for 20 years, I believe that we need to make serious changes to the format of the Minsk Group," Ali Ahmadov, executive secretary of Yeni Azerbaijan Party (YAP) was quoted by Trend news agency on Monday as saying.

The Minsk Group, established in 1992, has been working to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the long-standing conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, but numerous rounds of negotiations brokered by the French, Russian and US mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

Ahmadov noted that Azerbaijan supports a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

"To what extent is it possible to believe that the negotiations will yield results though there has been no progress over the 20 years of the conflict? To believe this, you have to be a big optimist. I think that the people of Azerbaijan are no longer optimistic. A just way to resolve the conflict and to end the suffering of the hundreds of thousands of people should be found," Ahmadov said.

On the same day, Azerbaijani deputy parliament speaker Bahar Muradova said the Minsk Group co-chairmen's statement expressing concern over rhetoric which may heighten tension between the parties to the conflict was addressed to Armenia, which wants to open an airport in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, Trend reported on Monday.

Muradova said Armenia's actions are a provocation aimed at aggravating the situation.

Furthermore, the talks themselves show to what extent the sides are committed to the peace process, she added.

Muradova said to achieve tangible results the Minsk Group co-chairs should exert more efforts and influence Armenia to make it abandon its non-constructive position.

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