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The OSCE foreign ministers encouraged Azerbaijan and Armenia to intensify talks on settling the conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh following two-day of talks concluding in Helsinki on Friday.
Among the resolutions approved at the OSCE Foreign Ministers Council included a ministerial statement regarding the Garabagh conflict. In their statement, ministers welcomed the "constructive and positive momentum in the peace process" for the political settlement of the long-standing dispute.
Further, the ministers praised the talks held between the two countries` presidents in St. Petersburg, Russia in June and in Moscow early in November, including a declaration signed in the Russian capital based upon the initiative of President Dmitry Medvedev. That declaration further urged continuing the OSCE-mediated dialog between the parties as well as joint efforts in bolstering stability in the South Caucasus through a political settlement of the conflict. The OSCE believes this will serve as a tool in reaching a negotiated solution to the Garabagh problem and opens up broad opportunities to accomplish the goal.
"We insistently call on the conflicting sides to continue talks within the frame work of the [mediating] OSCE Minsk Group and to abide by the Moscow declaration. We believe that the parties should speed up the drafting of a basic agreement on the basis of the principles outlined in Madrid on November 29, 2007."
The statement also noted that increasing mutual confidence between the conflicting sides was one of the key conditions for finding a solution to the Garabagh conflict.
Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but Armenia continues to occupy Upper Garabagh and seven other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law. Peace talks have not yet resulted in resolving the conflict.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said while addressing the OSCE ministerial on Thursday that international law stipulates that Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity must be the basis for a settlement in the Garabagh region. He also praised the declaration signed at the end of Moscow-brokered trilateral talks on November 2.
Mammadyarov went on to brand the Garabagh problem as a major source of instability.
Further, the minister noted that the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents have pledged to seek a political settlement to the conflict.
"What`s important is to ensure a normal life for both Azerbaijanis and Armenians in Garabagh, and to forge cooperation and ties. I believe that Armenians also comprehend and support our position," Mammadyarov said.
He emphasized that the OSCE plays a special role in the conflict resolution, but expressed concern over the group`s focusing exclusively on human rights.
"We have to reaffirm our commitment to the principles of the Helsinki Final Act and recognize the principle of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states in the backdrop of the latest developments. We have to use the organization`s experience and recommendations in settling the conflict. But the OSCE`s placing an emphasis on human rights alone perturbs us. We support a more just and balanced stance," Mammadyarov said.
OSCE Chairman-in-Office Alexander Stubb, in his remarks, pointed out the importance of the European security body`s further efforts in settling "frozen" conflicts. Stubb added that the Minsk Group`s activity "inspires his optimism."
Further, William Burns, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, called for a more vigorous effort to resolve lingering disputes.
"We have to redouble our efforts for the solution of frozen conflicts. More specifically, we welcome the latest steps on Upper Garabagh taken by Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sarkisian," Burns told the Council meeting.
He stressed that the conflict settlement process should be continued within the Minsk Group and urged both Baku and Yerevan to keep on negotiating both in the bilateral format and with the OSCE mediators.
Goran Lennmarker, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) rapporteur on the Garabagh conflict, said in Helsinki that a document on the principles of conflict settlement could be signed before the spring of 2009.
He noted that the parties were very close to a settlement. "If there is political will, a settlement is possible. I do understand that this will be a very difficult decision for the presidents of both countries, but it is evident that now is the right time to do that."
In its appeal to the Helsinki ministerial, Armenia urged OSCE countries to prevent Azerbaijan`s ongoing build-up of armaments. Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian expressed his disappointment with the tacit support of most member states for what he described as Azerbaijan`s intense military build-up.
Nalbandian warned the group that the weaponry Azerbaijan was purchasing would be used in battle one day.
The minister also accused Azerbaijan of allegedly breaching the Moscow declaration. "Azerbaijan constantly issues belligerent statements which run counter to the declaration," he said and called on the OSCE chairman to monitor Azerbaijani statements.
On the whole, however, the Armenian diplomat pointed to some progress in negotiations with Azerbaijan following the signing of this document.

Baku reaffirms stance
The Azerbaijani delegation also distributed a document at the OSCE ministers` meeting reaffirming Baku`s stance on the Garabagh conflict. The paper, in English, entitled "The principles on a peaceful settlement of the Upper Garabagh conflict," says Azerbaijan backs a negotiated resolution of the conflict, but its territorial integrity cannot be compromised under any circumstances and the country`s borders are both non-negotiable and inviolable.
The document notes that the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities of Upper Garabagh can co-exist peacefully. However, it calls for the region`s integrity being restored strictly within Azerbaijan`s borders. Further, it calls for displaced Azeris to be returned, the withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from occupied Azerbaijani territories and suitable conditions provided for cooperation.