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Ukraine to keep supporting OSCE Minsk Group in Karabakh peace process
YEREVAN, January 17. /ARKA/. Ukraine will continue supporting the OSCE Minsk Group on peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara told a press conference in Vienna.
OSCE will continue its efforts toward peace settlement of the conflict and intensified negotiations between the parties, Kozhara said.
The Karabakh conflict started in 1988 when prevailingly Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh declared withdrawal from Azerbaijan. On December 10, 1991, a referendum was held in Nagorno-Karabakh where 99.89% voted for independence from Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan responded by large-scale military operations that led to loss of control not only over Nagorno-Karabakh itself, but also over seven adjoining areas. About 25-30 thousands people were killed and about a million had to leave their homes during the military operations.
A trilateral cease-fire agreement was signed on May 12, 2004, and has been followed since then.
The ongoing Karabakh peace process started in 1992 under auspices of OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the USA, Russia and France. -0-
14:52 17.01.2013
