OSCE MINSK GROUP TO VISIT NAGORNO-KARABAKH REGION
RIA Novosti
Oct 22 2007
Russia
YEREVAN, October 22 (RIA Novosti) – The OSCE Minsk Group aimed
at solving the dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region will pay a
one-day visit to Armenia’s capital on October 24, an Armenian Foreign
Ministry spokesman said on Monday.
Vladimir Karapetyan said the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen are expected
to meet with Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and Foreign Minister
Vardan Oskanyan, adding that it was currently unclear whether the
mediators would visit Stepanakert, the capital of Azerbaijan’s
breakaway republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.
After their visit to Armenia, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairman will
travel to Azerbaijan to meet with the country’s leaders.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk
Group was created in 1992 to encourage a peaceful resolution to the
conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. The
group is co-chaired by U.S., Russian and French representatives.
The conflict between the two former Soviet republics over
Nagorno-Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian
population, first erupted in 1988 when it declared independence from
Azerbaijan to join Armenia.
Over 30,000 people were killed on both sides between 1988 and 1994,
and over 100 died following a 1994 ceasefire. Nagorno-Karabakh
remained in Armenian hands, but tensions between Azerbaijan and
Armenia have persisted.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
