CO-CHAIRS OF OSCE MG ASK FOR TIME TO DEFINE CONTOURS FOR FUTURE TALKS ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT

TREND News Agency, Azerbaijan
June 11 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend A.Ismaylova / The Foreign Minister
of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, said on 11 June in Baku that the
Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group asked for time to define the contours
for future talks regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement.

According to the Minister, Azerbaijan and Co-Chairs of the OSCE
Minsk Group are going to continue the negotiations on the conflict
settlement. He voiced his hope that the Armenian side will also support
the continuing peaceful process. A meeting took place between the
Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia on 9 June in Saint-Petersburg
within informal summit of the CIS State Heads.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries appeared in 1988
due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenia has
occupied 20% of the Azerbaijani lands including the Nagorno-Karabakh
region and its seven surrounding districts. Since 1992 to the present
time, these territories have been under Armenian occupation. In 1994,
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a cease-fire agreement at which time
the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
(Russia, France and USA) are holding peaceful negotiations.