By Asbarez | Thursday, 30 March 2017
YEREVAN—The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group Co-Chairs issued a statement on March 29 regarding their recent working visits to Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Republic.
Below reads the full text of the statement.
****
The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France and Richard Hoagland of the United States of America), together with the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, traveled to Baku (March 11), Yerevan (March 27) and Nagorno-Karabakh (March 28).
The main purpose of the Co-Chairs’ visits to the region was to receive the most current detailed political and military information on the Line of Contact and the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, to discuss the implementation of agreements reached at 2016 Summits in Vienna and St. Petersburg and to address the next steps toward a settlement.
The Co-Chairs met with the Presidents and Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia and the de facto authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh. They also visited territories around Nagorno-Karabakh. In their talks, the Co-Chairs reiterated their deep concern over recent incidents along the Line of Contact, calling on the sides to exercise restraint in their rhetoric and in their actions. The Presidents laid out their positions on the Co-Chairs’ proposals to strengthen the ceasefire and to avoid further escalation of hostilities, particularly in light of the Novruz and Easter holidays. They expressed their commitment to continuing the negotiation process toward a political solution.
In their talks, the Co-Chairs stressed the essential importance of continued support for Ambassador Kasprzyk’s mission and its expansion. The Co-Chairs also emphasized their conviction that respect for the ceasefire is of the utmost importance for building an atmosphere of trust to enable further negotiations.
The Co-Chairs will soon travel to Vienna to brief the members of the Minsk Group.
comments
Azerbaijan Blocks Humanitarian Transport To and From Lachin Corridor
#TogetherForSyria Telethon Raises over $110,000 for Armenians In Syria
After Lachin Corridor Blockade, Putin Speaks to Pashinyan and Aliyev
Aliyev Signs Order Declaring Shushi Cultural Capital of Turkic World
Lemkin Institute Voices Support For Artsakh Rights to Self-Determination to Avoid Genocide
Tensions Escalate Between Iran and Azerbaijan
Moscow is Closely Coordinating Peace Treaty with Yerevan and Baku
Aliyev Criticism of Russian Peacekeepers and Iran Elicits Strong Reactions
Putin Says Yerevan Rejected His Plan to Cede Less Territory in Artsakh