Ban Ki-moon says presidential meeting brings closer Karabakh peace process
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has voiced hope that the
Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents’ meeting held in Bern on
December 19 will bring the countries closer to finding peaceful
resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, RIA Novosti
reported.
"The summit offered the sides an opportunity to discuss practical
steps of reducing the ceasefire violations and the number of
civilian casualties, as well as to develop the ways to bring the
peace process closer”, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon said.
Ban Ki-moon also stressed the activities of the OSCE MG co-chairs, who organized the summit in Switzerland.
The peace talks, mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. through the OSCE Minsk Group on the basis of the Madrid Principles have been largely fruitless so far despite the efforts of the co-chair countries over 20 years.
The sides to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict currently hold talks based on the renewed Madrid principles, which envisage return of occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control, ensure the right of all internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their former places of residence, future determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh and etc.
The UN Secretary-General further urged Baku and Yerevan to
cooperate closely with the Minsk Group on further de-escalation of
the situation and to refrain from actions that could lead to new
violence.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a
result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied
20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and
seven surrounding districts.
Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.
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