Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.24

By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:

Andrew Schofer will be the new permanent US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group.

The remarks were made by the interim US co-chair Richard Hoagland during the round-table in Washington.

“I’m very pleased to tell you that starting Monday, the US co-chair will be Andrew Schofer. Very experienced senior US diplomat, who most recently served as our charge d’affaires at the US Mission for International Organizations in Vienna,” he said.

The Minsk Group, the activities of which have become known as the Minsk Process, spearheads the OSCE's efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It is co-chaired by France, the Russian Federation, and the United States.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.