By Trend
The preparation of populations to embrace any compromise solution has long been the missing ingredient in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, Former US Minsk Group Co-Chair Carey Cavanaugh wrote on Twitter, Trend reports.
He was commenting on the recent statement issued following the meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers with participation of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs in Paris on January 16.
Thomas de Waal, a UK political analyst, senior fellow with Carnegie Europe, specializing in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus region has assessed the statement very positive.
“Suddenly the mood has changed on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. Very positive statement. Now time to get down to work, involve more stakeholders, start debate on difficult issues in society,” he wrote on Twitter.
The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stéphane Visconti of France and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) hosted consultations between Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov and Acting Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan on 16 January in Paris.
The ministers discussed a wide range of issues related to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and agreed upon the necessity of taking concrete measures to prepare the populations for peace.
The Co-Chairs plan to meet the leaders of the two countries in the near future.
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.