OSCE MG CALLS TO RESTORE CONFIDENCE IN KARABAKH

PanARMENIAN.Net
10.03.2008 13:12 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The three OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs – Ambassador
Yury Merzlyakov of the Russian Federation, Ambassador Bernard Fassier
of France and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza of
the United States – issued the following statement today:

"The OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs deeply regret the tragic loss of
life on March 4 along the Line of Contact in the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict. The Co-chairs call on the parties to restore confidence
along the Line of Contact and desist from any further confrontations,
escalation of violence or warmongering rhetoric.

"U.S. Co-chair Matt Bryza and the Personal Representative of the
OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, are currently
in the region, where they have met on behalf of the three mediators
with both sides to defuse the crisis. As of today, the ceasefire has
been restored and the situation on the Line of Contact is calm. The
Co- chairs call upon both Sides to strictly abide by the provisions
of the Arrangement on strengthening the ceasefire in the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict of February 4, 1995.

"The Co-chairs reiterate that there is no military solution to
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The outbreak of hostilities would
destabilize the entire region, with calamitous consequences for
all involved.

The recent casualties and loss of life only underscore the urgent need
for both sides to reach to an agreement peacefully through ongoing
negotiations under the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs.

"The Co-chairs call on Armenia and Azerbaijan to redouble their efforts
to endorse the Basic Principles for the peaceful resolution of the
conflict presented to the sides on the margins of the Madrid OSCE
Ministerial in November 2007, and to begin as soon as possible the
process of drafting a peace agreement on this basis. The Co-chairs
reiterate their support for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and
that Nagorno-Karabakh’s status is the subject of negotiations."