Azernews.Az

The US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict has held a number of meetings with the leaders of the separatist regime in the self-proclaimed Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh republic.
Matthew Bryza, who headed to the Armenia-occupied territories of Azerbaijan after paying a visit to Armenia, said there were no new proposals or approaches regarding the conflict settlement and peace talks were under way in line with the basic principles put forth by the mediators.
The Minsk Group co-chairs from the United States, Russia and France submitted written proposals on the Garabagh settlement to Baku and Yerevan in Madrid, Spain in late 2007. The document is a set of basic principles for the peaceful settlement of the dispute within the so-called Prague process (phased conflict resolution).
Bryza said the intermediaries are awaiting the next meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers, voicing hope it would take place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session that started in New York Tuesday.
The co-chair termed the meetings he had in Khankandi, the center of Upper Garabagh, an occupied Azerbaijani region, as "constructive talks".
He said the self-styled republic`s claim on its participation in peace talks as a party was touched upon during the discussions.
"The co-chairs discuss this issue every time. We have repeatedly stated that it can be considered if a need for this arises at some point. But first, we have to wrap up our work on the basic principles."
Bryza said the US government was seeking to play an important role in settling the Garabagh conflict.
"We have to continue our much-needed work aimed at resolving the conflict, and that`s what I am doing now," he added.
After his visit to Khankandi, Bryza headed to Yerevan again.