Nagorno-Karabakh mediators to visit region in November to discuss presidential meeting
By Sara Rajabova
Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Personal Representative Andrzej Kasprzyk met with the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers in New York on September 27, according to the OSCE website.
The co-chairs -- Igor Popov of Russia, Jacques Faure of France and James Warlick of the United States -- and Ministers Elmar Mammadyarov and Edward Nalbandyan continued discussions on the substance of the peace process aimed at resolving the long-standing dispute.
The co-chairs stressed the commitment of their three countries to support the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict based on the non-use of force or the threat of force, territorial integrity, and equal rights and self-determination of peoples.
They also referred to the statement of their three presidents on June 18, 2013, with special attention to the appeal to the sides to refrain from any actions or rhetoric that could heighten tension in the region and lead to escalation of the conflict.
The ministers reiterated their determination to continue working with the co-chairs to reach a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
The co-chairs expect to visit the region in November to discuss with the presidents their planned summit meeting later this year.
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.
The UN Security Council's four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal have not been enforced to this day.
Peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles. The negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.
During his visit to New York to attend the 68th session of the UN General Assembly, the Azerbaijani foreign minister also discussed the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman.
The meeting also focused on issues such as the development of relations between Azerbaijan and the U.S. and the issue of the use of chemical weapons in Syria, which is on the agenda of the UN Security Council.