MEETINGS WITH FOREIGN MINISTERS OF AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA HELD IN A CONSTRUCTIVE SPIRIT – OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS

Trend
Oct 27 2009
Azerbaijan

Meetings with foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan took place
in a constructive spirit, says a joint statement of the OSCE Minsk
Group Co-Chairs, placed on the official website of the OSCE.

According to the statement, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Yuri
Merzlyakov (Russia), Bernard Fassier (France) and Robert Bradtke
(U.S.) met on Monday, October 26, with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov and Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian in
Luxembourg, where they held a working session with each minister.

The sessions, which took place in a constructive spirit, assessed the
current stage of the negotiations and considered, in particular, next
steps in view of the December 1-2 OSCE Ministerial Council in Athens,
says the statement.

The Co-Chairs will travel to the region in early November to meet
the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan and continue to work with
them on the basic principles for the peaceful settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan
lost all of Nagorno-Karabakh except for Shusha and Khojali in December
1991. In 1992-93, Armenian armed forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and 7
districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed
a ceasefire in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia,
France, and the U.S. – are currently holding the peace negotiations.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress