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AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA VOICE COMMITMENT FOR NAGORNO-KARABAKH SETTLEMENT
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Nov 20 2013
20 November 2013, 13:10 (GMT+04:00)
By Sara Rajabova
Following the Vienna talks, Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents
agreed to advance negotiations toward a peaceful settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The news was announced by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs after the
meeting of Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsian in Vienna on
November 19.
The Foreign Ministers of the two countries and the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs Igor Popov of Russia, Jacques Faure of France, and James
Warlick of the United States, and Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairperson in Office also participated at the meeting.
This was the Presidents' first meeting since their January 2012 summit
in Sochi.
The Minsk Group mediators noted that during their private one-on-one
meeting and the working session afterward with the co-chairs and the
Ministers, the Presidents discussed a broad range of issues related
to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The Presidents instructed their Foreign Ministers to continue
cooperation with the co-chairs to build on the work to date with the
aim of intensifying the peace process.
"They agreed to meet again in the months ahead," the statement reads.
As a next step, the co-chairs will organize a working session with
the Ministers on the margins of the OSCE Ministerial Council, which
will take place on December 5-6 in Kyiv.
The co-chairs also plan to visit the region before the end of the year.
OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara
welcomed the Presidents' meeting.
"I trust that the highest-level dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan
will contribute to strengthening confidence and mutual understanding
between the parties, and will provide a positive incentive for the
negotiation process on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement,"
Kozhara said.
He expressed his belief that such negotiations will serve as a
warranty for peace, stability, and opening new opportunities for
regional co-operation.
"The Ukrainian chairmanship stands ready to further facilitate the
efforts of Azerbaijan and Armenia with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairs on the establishment of regular dialogue aimed at
reaching a comprehensive peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict on the basis of international law," Kozhara said.
The United States also hailed the meeting between Presidents of
Azerbaijan and Armenia under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs, the statement published on the official website of the U.S.
State Department said.
"We commend the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan for this first
step, and are encouraged they have agreed to a follow-up meeting in
the months ahead," department spokesperson Jen Psaki said.
According to Psaki, this summit is an important step toward restarting
dialogue and demonstrates the leaders' shared commitment to bring an
end to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Psaki said as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group along with Russia,
and France, the United States urges both Presidents to work actively
towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict, which has taken a
heavy toll on the people on all sides.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made
territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early
1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed
forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally
recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent
regions.
As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000
Azerbaijanis were killed, 4,866 are reported missing and almost
100,000 were injured, and 50,000 were disabled.
Long-standing efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have been
largely fruitless so far.
The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Armenian
withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been
enforced to this day.
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Nov 20 2013
20 November 2013, 13:10 (GMT+04:00)
By Sara Rajabova
Following the Vienna talks, Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents
agreed to advance negotiations toward a peaceful settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The news was announced by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs after the
meeting of Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsian in Vienna on
November 19.
The Foreign Ministers of the two countries and the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs Igor Popov of Russia, Jacques Faure of France, and James
Warlick of the United States, and Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairperson in Office also participated at the meeting.
This was the Presidents' first meeting since their January 2012 summit
in Sochi.
The Minsk Group mediators noted that during their private one-on-one
meeting and the working session afterward with the co-chairs and the
Ministers, the Presidents discussed a broad range of issues related
to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The Presidents instructed their Foreign Ministers to continue
cooperation with the co-chairs to build on the work to date with the
aim of intensifying the peace process.
"They agreed to meet again in the months ahead," the statement reads.
As a next step, the co-chairs will organize a working session with
the Ministers on the margins of the OSCE Ministerial Council, which
will take place on December 5-6 in Kyiv.
The co-chairs also plan to visit the region before the end of the year.
OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara
welcomed the Presidents' meeting.
"I trust that the highest-level dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan
will contribute to strengthening confidence and mutual understanding
between the parties, and will provide a positive incentive for the
negotiation process on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement,"
Kozhara said.
He expressed his belief that such negotiations will serve as a
warranty for peace, stability, and opening new opportunities for
regional co-operation.
"The Ukrainian chairmanship stands ready to further facilitate the
efforts of Azerbaijan and Armenia with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairs on the establishment of regular dialogue aimed at
reaching a comprehensive peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict on the basis of international law," Kozhara said.
The United States also hailed the meeting between Presidents of
Azerbaijan and Armenia under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs, the statement published on the official website of the U.S.
State Department said.
"We commend the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan for this first
step, and are encouraged they have agreed to a follow-up meeting in
the months ahead," department spokesperson Jen Psaki said.
According to Psaki, this summit is an important step toward restarting
dialogue and demonstrates the leaders' shared commitment to bring an
end to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Psaki said as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group along with Russia,
and France, the United States urges both Presidents to work actively
towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict, which has taken a
heavy toll on the people on all sides.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made
territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early
1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed
forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally
recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent
regions.
As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000
Azerbaijanis were killed, 4,866 are reported missing and almost
100,000 were injured, and 50,000 were disabled.
Long-standing efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have been
largely fruitless so far.
The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Armenian
withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been
enforced to this day.