OSCE chief, US mediator discuss Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
By Sara Rajabova
OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier and the new US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, James Warlick, discussed the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at a meeting in Vienna on September 16, the OSCE told Trend news agency.
Warlick is scheduled to meet with the Russian and French co-chairs soon in New York on the sidelines of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly.
The US mediator paid his first visit to the South Caucasus region to meet with the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and also traveled to Nagorno-Karabakh.
During his visit to Azerbaijan, Warlick called for joint efforts of Azerbaijan, Armenia and the regional states and said it is time to put an end to hatred and suffering. He also said it was time for all sides involved to work together on the basis of the Helsinki Final Act.
The Azerbaijani president and defense minister received the Minsk Group co-chair.
During his meeting with President Ilham Aliyev, Warlick handed over US President Barack Obama's letter to the Azerbaijani President, which said it is time to restore peace in the region.
As part of his visit to the region Warlick also visited Armenia where he met with President Serzh Sargsyan and Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian. The discussions covered the current stage and prospects of the negotiation process on a settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Warlick was appointed the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair in August.
In December, Robert Bradtke completed his term as the US Minsk Group co-chair. Ian Kelly had been named the US co-chair on an interim basis on December 21, 2012, pending the appointment of a new permanent co-chair.
The U.S., along with Russia and France, has long been working to broker a solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through the Minsk Group, but their efforts have been largely fruitless so far.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.