TODAY.AZ / Politics

OSCE Minsk Group could meet this fall

12 October 2015 [16:57] - TODAY.AZ

/By AzerNews/

By Aynur Karimova

The OSCE Minsk Group, engaged in resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, could hold talks this autumn, Lamberto Zannier said at a meeting of the Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in Moscow on October 12, RIA Novosti reported.

The OSCE Secretary-General did not rule out a meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents as well.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor, causing a brutal war in the early 1990s. Long-standing efforts by U.S, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

He expressed concern over the increase of tensions in the region and along the Azerbaijani-Armenian border, and emphasized the necessity of working with the political leadership.

"We had a meeting with the foreign ministers [of Azerbaijan and Armenia] during the UN General Assembly's session in New York, and a meeting of the OSCE Minsk Group. Another meeting is possible during the autumn. We hope that a meeting with the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia will be possible," Zannier added.

A prior meeting between Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan took place in Paris, France last October through an initiative by the French president.

The co-chairs are working on another presidential meeting by end of the year to find a peaceful resolution to the long-standing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

They also discussed this issue during their latest visit to the region. Co-Chairs James Warlick of the U.S., Igor Popov of Russia, and Pierre Andrieu of France traveled to Yerevan and Baku in July to discuss the issue with the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents.

Warlick said last week that the co-chairs of the Minsk Group will travel to the South Caucasus region later this month to meet the presidents and prepare for their next summit.

“We expect their meeting to advance the negotiation process and contribute to the stabilization of the security situation,” he added.

OSCE urges int'l community to draw attention to conflict’s resolution

Later, Zannier told journalists that the situation around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict causes major concern, and the situation that has developed today on the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops’ contact line is explosive.

“This is a time when the international community should draw attention to the need to resolve this situation,” he said.

Zannier also noted that the dynamics of developments causes worries. “I believe a time has come for political initiatives to resolve this matter,” he added.

As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, 4,866 were reported missing, almost 100,000 were injured and 50,000 were left disabled.

The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on the Armenian withdrawal from Azerbaijani territories, but they have not been enforced to this day.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/politics/144310.html

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