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SWITZERLAND READY TO CONTRIBUTE TO SETTLING THE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
March 27 2014
27 March 2014, 15:00 (GMT+04:00)
By Sara Rajabova
The Swiss OSCE Chairmanship voiced readiness to support the OSCE Minsk
Group, which mediates negotiation over resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for South
Caucasus, Angelo Gnadinger told Trend Agency that the Swiss OSCE
Chairmanship is ready to provide any support to the Minsk Group and
to create relevant conditions.
Gnadinger said he had constructive discussions with Azerbaijani
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov within the framework of the
meetings with Azerbaijani officials over the peaceful resolution of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"During this meeting, I underlined the importance of the Minsk process
from the perspective of the Swiss OSCE Chairmanship, since we consider
the conflict a continuing cause of suffering for all the affected
people and a threat to the whole Caucasus region. When addressing the
OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on 16 January, Didier Burkhalter, the
Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE and Foreign Minister of Switzerland,
made clear that it is not an option for Switzerland to simply 'wait
and see'," Gnadinger said.
He said Switzerland fully supports the Minsk process and closely
cooperates with the co-chairs and Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, the
Personal Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office for the conflict
dealt with by the Minsk Conference.
Gnadinger stressed that the Swiss OSCE Chairmanship is ready to
provide any support to the Minsk Group co-chairs and encourage the
parties to intensify their dialogue.
Earlier, Burkhalter voiced readiness to promote the resolution of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
He said the Swiss chairmanship will maintain and support the
established format for conflict settlement, which is the Minsk Group
co-chaired by the U.S., Russia and France.
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.
The UN Security Council's four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal
have not been enforced to this day.
Peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group are underway on the basis
of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the
Madrid Principles. The negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
March 27 2014
27 March 2014, 15:00 (GMT+04:00)
By Sara Rajabova
The Swiss OSCE Chairmanship voiced readiness to support the OSCE Minsk
Group, which mediates negotiation over resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for South
Caucasus, Angelo Gnadinger told Trend Agency that the Swiss OSCE
Chairmanship is ready to provide any support to the Minsk Group and
to create relevant conditions.
Gnadinger said he had constructive discussions with Azerbaijani
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov within the framework of the
meetings with Azerbaijani officials over the peaceful resolution of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"During this meeting, I underlined the importance of the Minsk process
from the perspective of the Swiss OSCE Chairmanship, since we consider
the conflict a continuing cause of suffering for all the affected
people and a threat to the whole Caucasus region. When addressing the
OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on 16 January, Didier Burkhalter, the
Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE and Foreign Minister of Switzerland,
made clear that it is not an option for Switzerland to simply 'wait
and see'," Gnadinger said.
He said Switzerland fully supports the Minsk process and closely
cooperates with the co-chairs and Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, the
Personal Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office for the conflict
dealt with by the Minsk Conference.
Gnadinger stressed that the Swiss OSCE Chairmanship is ready to
provide any support to the Minsk Group co-chairs and encourage the
parties to intensify their dialogue.
Earlier, Burkhalter voiced readiness to promote the resolution of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
He said the Swiss chairmanship will maintain and support the
established format for conflict settlement, which is the Minsk Group
co-chaired by the U.S., Russia and France.
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.
The UN Security Council's four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal
have not been enforced to this day.
Peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group are underway on the basis
of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the
Madrid Principles. The negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.