OSCE MG: A PEACEFUL RESOLUTION WILL REQUIRE A NEGOTIATED POLITICAL COMPROMISE ON THE FINAL STATUS OF KARABAKH

armradio.am
04.04.2008 10:48

The Co-Chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group released the following
statement yesterday:

"On the margins of the NATO summit in Bucharest on April 2-4, 2008,
the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassador Yuri Merzlyakov
(Russian Federation), Ambassador Bernard Fassier (France), and
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza (United States),
and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman in Office,
Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, met with Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister and President-elect Serge Sargsyan,
together with their Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Elmar Mammadyarov
and Vartan Oskanian.

"The two leaders and the Co-Chairs exchanged views on ways to reduce
differences between the sides and forge consensus on the Basic
Principles for the Peaceful Settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh (NK)
Conflict.

"The Co-Chairs reiterated their support for the territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan and reaffirmed their longstanding view that a peaceful
resolution of the conflict will require a negotiated political
compromise on the final status of NK, pending the future approval of
its population.

"The two leaders and the Co-Chairs agreed to continue the negotiations
on the existing basis, further clarify the current proposal on the
table, and pursue additional steps to advance the peace process. For
that purpose, the mediators underscored the utility of meetings at
the highest level between the sides as soon as possible."