13:52,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. As a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia supports the continuation of the work of the Co-Chairs in accordance with their mandate, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a weekly press briefing, when asked to comment on the latest statement of the Azerbaijani president who said that Azerbaijan will not allow the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to deal with the Karabakh conflict and that the “Nagorno Karabakh issue is closed”.

“As a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia supports the continuation of the work of that format, firstly based on its mandate and also taking into account the regional realities which came after the war in 2020. Our partners of the Minsk Group – the United States and France, fully share our position. This position has been reflected in the 2021 December 7 statement of the foreign ministries of the Minsk Group Co-Chairing countries”, she said, reminding that that document cited the call of the Co-Chairs addressed to Baku and Yerevan to host the Co-Chairs in the region in the nearest timeframes which will allow them to assess the situation, reach tangible progress in humanitarian initiatives which were discussed during the meetings of the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers with the Co-Chairs.

Zakharova added that based on the results of the aforementioned talks which were held in New York and Paris in September and November 2021, the Co-Chairs have conveyed a balanced and realistic proposal on the future cooperation agenda to the two ministers in Stockholm on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial Council. The agenda proposed by the Co-Chairs relates to both the humanitarian and the socio-political issues.

“We are expecting an official reaction from the sides, including also over the issue of resuming the regional visits of the Co-Chairs”, the Russian MFA spokesperson said.