OSCE MINISTERIAL MEETING’S STATEMENT ON NAGORNO KARABAKH ISSUE
By Aghavni Harutyunian
AZG Armenian Daily
07/12/2006
As a result of the Brussels sitting of the OSCE Ministerial
Council a statement on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict was adopted. In
particular, the OSCE Foreign Ministers emphasized the following: "We
are encouraged that negotiations in 2006, facilitated by the Co-Chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group and supported by the OSCE Chairman in Office,
have brought the sides closer to agreement on the basic principles for
the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, says the Statement
of Nagorno-Karabakh for the OSCE Ministerial Meeting. We welcome the
support of the leaders of the G8 to these efforts, expressed at the G8
Summit in St. Petersburg in July. We urge Presidents of Armenia and
Azerbaijan to redouble their efforts in the coming year to finalize
these basic principles as soon as possible. Besides, they stated that
they call on the sides, with the assistance of the international
community, to extend co- operation to conduct an environmental
operation to suppress the fires in the affected territories and to
overcome detrimental consequences. These measures can constitute
significant steps toward restoring confidence between the sides. The
OSCE is available to assist, they emphasized. They also expressed
they continuing support for the Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chairman in Office and his mission to the region and particularly for
their efficient assistance to the environmental Assessment Mission
and for their ongoing monitoring of the cease-fire. "We regret that
incidents along the front lines continue occasionally to result in
loss of life on both sides to adhere strictly to the cease-fire,"
the statement stretched.
It’s worth mentioning that Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of Russia,
emphasized the importance of achieving the agreement of the sides for
the settlement of the conflict, taking into account the each side’s
position in the negotiations. At the same time, Lavrov stated that the
settlement of the conflict through military actions is unacceptable and
once again emphasized the importance of peacekeeping and negotiating
formats.