OSCE MEDIATORS COORDINATING BASIC PRINCIPLES OF A KARABAKH SETTLEMENT

news.az
Nov 6 2009
Azerbaijan

Bernard Fassier The co-chairmen of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation’s Minsk Group, the main international body negotiating
a settlement to the Karabakh conflict, are holding the latest round
of talks in Azerbaijan and Armenia.

"We continue work on coordinating the basic principles. I hope that
after the visit to Yerevan we will be able to specify the date and
venue of the next meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents,"
the Russian co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Yuriy Merzlyakov,
told ATV after meetings with the Azerbaijani leadership on Thursday.

"As for new proposals on the basis of the Madrid principles, they
are not written once and for all time but change in the process of
negotiations and new proposals may also emerge," Merzlyakov said.

He said the co-chairs would not have time to visit Nagorno-Karabakh
on this occasion.

In turn, French mediator Bernard Fassier said the co-chairs are
working on strengthening the basic principles.

"We have been working with the parties on the proposals that are
called the ‘basic principles’ for two years now and we try to achieve
progress. We want to strengthen these principles and make additions to
them if needed. We will continue this work until we make the presidents
agree on the documents or until they empower us to prepare the text
of the agreement," Fassier said.

The Minsk Group co-chairmen are having meetings in Yerevan on Friday
and will return to Baku in the evening