Armenian Foreign Minister hosts new-appointed OSCE Minsk group Russian Co-chair
YEREVAN, April 27. /ARKA/. On Tuesday, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan received newly appointed OSCE Minsk Group Russian Co-chair Igor Popov, the ministry’s press office reports.
Nalbandyan congratulated Popov on his appointment and expressed hope that he would make an important contribution to settlement of Karabakh conflict.
The co-chair, in return, thanked the minister for kind wishes and assured him that he would make every effort for settling the conflict.
Nalbandyan and Popov exchanged views on latest Karabakh-related developments.
Karabakh conflict broke out in 1988 when Karabakh, mainly populated by Armenians, declared its independence from Azerbaijan.
On December 10, 1991, a few days after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a referendum took place in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the majority of the population (99.89%) voted for secession from Azerbaijan.
Afterwards, large-scale military operations began. As a result, Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven regions adjacent to it.
On May 12, 1994 Bishkek cease-fire agreement, put an end to the military operations.
Since 1992, talks brokered by OSCE Minsk Group are being held over peaceful settlement of the conflict. The group is co-chaired by USA, Russia and France. ---0---
