Azernews.Az

By Laman Sadigova

Germany favors the intensification of the negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Foreign Minister of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier mentioned it in his article dealing with the European security.

"Armed clashes on the contact line and the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan give us cause for concern," he wrote.

Steinmeier's statement was met in Azerbaijan with a great interest as the country is waiting for some progress in this regard for a long time.

OSCE Minsk Group, which is brokering the long-lasting Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, is a frequent subject of criticism in Baku for its inefficient activities.

Long efforts taken for over two decades could not move the problem from the dead point to change the existing status quo.

Azerbaijan, who's 20 percent of internationally recognized territory is under Armenian occupation, now urges to take measures to improve the peace process, and considers as an option drastic measures or refusing the services of the OSCE MG.

The fragile ceasefire agreement between the conflict sides is broken almost every day as a result of Armenian provocations in the contact line of troops.

Steinmaier believes that another important step towards the settlement is to create a mechanism to investigate ceasefire violations.

Steinmeier stressed that he does not consider the unresolved conflicts in Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh and the South Caucasus as "frozen".

“Every year, they (the conflicts) continue to bring difficulties to the people affected by the conflict and bring stagnation in the region. We want to stabilize the ceasefire, to build trust and improve people's lives by taking small but real steps, such as increasing economic exchange," said German Foreign Minister.

Earlier, German Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Heidrun Tempel, said that Germany will pay more attention to the settlement of frozen conflicts in 2016, particularly, to Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

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