ITAR-TASS
Wednesday 5:52 PM GMT
Russia informs OSCE of steps resolving Karabakh residents’ problems – diplomat
MOSCOW May 8
HIGHLIGHT: Russia, as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh, has informed OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger in detail on results of the talks held by the Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers in Moscow in mid-April, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
MOSCOW, May 8. /TASS/. Russia, as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh, has informed OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger in detail on results of the talks held by the Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers in Moscow in mid-April, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
"After the Moscow meeting, Azerbaijan and Armenia are reported to be interested in putting cooperation back on track in the humanitarian field," she said. "I mean the steps to continue stabilizing the situation in the conflict zone, in particular during agricultural work, to let relatives visit persons held captive by the sides and to stay ready for practical steps aimed at establishing human contacts, including reciprocal trips by media representatives," she added.
For his part, Greminger confirmed the OSCE willingness to keep looking for a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis, Zakharova said.
History of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
The highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh (Mountainous Karabakh) is a mostly Armenian-populated enclave inside the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan. It was the first zone of inter-ethnic tensions and violence to appear on the map of the former USSR in February 1988. Then, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region declared independence from Azerbaijan, a republic within the Soviet Union at the time. In 1992-1994, hostilities broke out in the region between pro-Baku forces and Armenian residents, which resulted in the Nagorno-Karabakh’s de facto independence. In 1994, a ceasefire was reached but the relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been strained since then.
Since 1992, the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) co-chaired by Russia, France and the US have been holding talks to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.