Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The United States and Russia, the two co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group tasked to settle the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, have said that work is underway to solve the problem peacefully.

Robert Cekuta, the U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan said currently, steps are being taken towards the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, local media reported.

He noted that the co-chair of the United States in the OSCE Minsk Group, together with the other co-chairs,is working seriously and thoroughly to achieve this goal.

"As part of the UN General Assembly, a meeting is scheduled between the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers. The work continues in other directions. Warlick in July, held here a meeting with IDPs. It is about the people affected by the conflict. To solve this problem, steps must be taken. There are one million people in Azerbaijan who suffer from this conflict,” Cekuta said.

The Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers, Elmar Mammadyarov and Edward Nalbandian, will meet in New York on September 24-25 within the UN General Assembly.

Mammadyarov said he and the Armenian FM will first meet with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and then a joint meeting will be held.

Commenting on the forthcoming ministerial meeting in New York, Cekuta noted the importance of creating conditions for the parties to the conflict to continue negotiations.

Peace talks, mediated by Russia, France, and the U.S. through the OSCE Minsk Group are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs dubbed the Madrid Principles.

The negotiations to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which emerged in 1988 over Armenia’s illegal territorial claim against Azerbaijan, have been largely fruitless so far despite the efforts of the co-chair countries over the past 20 years.

In the meantime, Moscow said it will spare no effort to ensure a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as soon as possible.

Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokesperson said Russia is closely involved in the settlement process, and Moscow is a responsible participant in the peace talks, AzerTac state news agency reported.

Describing Russia's relations with Azerbaijan as developing dynamically, Zakharova said Baku is Moscow’s partner not only in the political arena, but also in economic and other fields.

She added that dialogue between the two countries at all levels –from relations between foreign ministers to the humanitarian ties – is actively developing.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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