Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 18
Trend:
The OSCE MG co-chairs proposed a number of creative ideas about the resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.
Mammadyarov made the remarks when commenting on the results of the Krakow meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers with participation of OSCE MG co-chairs and Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk on Jan.18.
Mamedyarov noted that, in Krakow the negotiations on resolution of Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict lasted about six hours.
"Initially, I had a meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and Personal Representative of OSCE Chairperson-in-Office. Afterwards with the participation of Co-Chairs and Personal Representative of OSCE Chairperson-in-Office I met with the Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian. Following this Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia had tête-à-tête meeting. After tête-à-tête meeting I again met with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office," minister said.
The minister added that during the meeting, the co-chairs proposed a number of creative ideas about the resolution of conflict.
"The Co-Chairs will visit the region in early February to continue discussions on these ideas. In principle, the meetings were held in a positive way. The general approach is that more intensive, substantial and logical negotiations should be continued in order to achieve progress in the conflict settlement and to ensure peace and stability in the region," Mammadyarov said.
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.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.