Joint Statement by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Vartan Oskanian, and Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, met in Geneva on March 14 under the aegis of the three Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Ambassador Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia), Ambassador Bernard Fassier (France), and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza (USA) - and in the presence of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman in Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.

The two ministers had a frank and constructive discussion about items raised by the parties since the meeting of Presidents Aliyev and Kocharian in Minsk on November 29, 2006.

The ministers provided each other a better understanding of their respective concerns that will allow the parties to pursue discussions on the basic principles for a future settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, as proposed by the Co-Chairs, which remain the core of the negotiations.

In that respect, the two foreign ministers agreed to meet again in April 2007 and possibly later in May to prepare grounds for a future presidential summit. OSCE