OSCE MINSK GROUP URGES AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA TO START PEACE TALKS ON KARABAKH
Interfax, Russia
Dec 4 2014
BASEL Switzerland. Dec 4
The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group for the settlement of the
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, i.e. Russia, the U.S., and France,
have urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to start negotiations on peacefully
settling the conflict as soon as possible.
"Negotiations on a comprehensive peace agreement under the auspices
of the Co-Chair countries should begin as soon as possible," Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry,
and State Secretary for European Affairs of France Harlem Desir said
in a statement in Basel, where the OSCE Ministerial Council held its
meeting on Thursday.
"The three meetings between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in
2014 at Sochi, Newport, and Paris have revitalized the most important
channel of communication between the sides," it said.
"We welcome the agreement by the Presidents in Paris to intensify
dialogue in the coming year. It is time for the sides to overcome
disagreements, restore confidence, and honor their commitment to
enter into a negotiating process that can result in a settlement,"
the statement says.
The authors of the document expect Azerbaijan and Armenia "to
acknowledge that the basis for a comprehensive settlement are the
elements and principles outlined in the joint statements by the
Presidents of Russia, the United States, and France, especially those
that were discussed during the last summit in Paris."
"We remain ready to work closely with the sides to reach a lasting
settlement and open a new chapter of peace but stress that the primary
responsibility to end the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict rests with the
leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan," it says.
The co-chairs stressed that the conflict has "no military solution"
and called on Azerbaijan and Armenia "to refrain from violence and
work actively towards a lasting settlement."
"The sides must take additional actions to reinforce the ceasefire
of 1994 and create a more favorable atmosphere for advancing peace
talks," it says.
va mk
Interfax, Russia
Dec 4 2014
BASEL Switzerland. Dec 4
The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group for the settlement of the
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, i.e. Russia, the U.S., and France,
have urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to start negotiations on peacefully
settling the conflict as soon as possible.
"Negotiations on a comprehensive peace agreement under the auspices
of the Co-Chair countries should begin as soon as possible," Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry,
and State Secretary for European Affairs of France Harlem Desir said
in a statement in Basel, where the OSCE Ministerial Council held its
meeting on Thursday.
"The three meetings between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in
2014 at Sochi, Newport, and Paris have revitalized the most important
channel of communication between the sides," it said.
"We welcome the agreement by the Presidents in Paris to intensify
dialogue in the coming year. It is time for the sides to overcome
disagreements, restore confidence, and honor their commitment to
enter into a negotiating process that can result in a settlement,"
the statement says.
The authors of the document expect Azerbaijan and Armenia "to
acknowledge that the basis for a comprehensive settlement are the
elements and principles outlined in the joint statements by the
Presidents of Russia, the United States, and France, especially those
that were discussed during the last summit in Paris."
"We remain ready to work closely with the sides to reach a lasting
settlement and open a new chapter of peace but stress that the primary
responsibility to end the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict rests with the
leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan," it says.
The co-chairs stressed that the conflict has "no military solution"
and called on Azerbaijan and Armenia "to refrain from violence and
work actively towards a lasting settlement."
"The sides must take additional actions to reinforce the ceasefire
of 1994 and create a more favorable atmosphere for advancing peace
talks," it says.
va mk