The Co-Chairs of the OBeSE Minsk Group are satisfied with the constructive stands of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents towards the main principles of the Karabakh peace process says the joint statement of the Co-Chairs reported by the U.S. Embassy to Armenia after the Co-Chairs' visit to the region.
The Co-Chairs appreciated the efforts of all the interlocutors they had met during the week.
"It is the responsibility of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, with the assistance of the Co-Chairs, to find a lasting, peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The presidents are defending their national interests vigorously, and they are doing so in a way that allows the peace process to continue moving forward," says the statement.
The Co-Chairs urged all parties to sustain the momentum in the negotiations and to prepare their publics for the necessary compromises. At the same time, the Co-Chairs urged continued pursuit of confidence-building measures and maintenance of the ceasefire to increase the level of trust and understanding between the sides.
The Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia Vardan Oskanyan and Elmar Mamediarov held negotiations on January 23 in the presence of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and facilitated by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia), Bernard Fassier (France) and Matthew Bryza (United States)
The Co-Chairs met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on January 24. On January 25, they travelled to Nagorno-Karabakh to meet with the leader of Nagorno-Karabakh Arkady Ghukasian. The Co-Chairs met with the Armenian President Robert Kocharian in Yerevan on January 26.
* Disclaimer: NKR Office does not necessarily
share views of these writers
or news organizations.
