Acting OSCE chair to discuss solutions to Karabakh conflict during his visit to South Caucasus
17.06.2013,
12:22
Ukrainian foreign minister and acting chair of OSCE Leonid Kozhara will discuss ways to resolve the Karabakh conflict during his visit to South Caucasus countries on June 17-20, acting director of information policy department, Ukrainian foreign ministry, Yevgeniy Perebiynis said at a briefing.
YEREVAN, June 17. /ARKA/. Ukrainian foreign minister and acting chair of OSCE Leonid Kozhara will discuss ways to resolve the Karabakh conflict during his visit to South Caucasus countries on June 17-20, acting director of information policy department, Ukrainian foreign ministry, Yevgeniy Perebiynis said at a briefing.
Kozhara will be in Azerbaijan on June 17-18, in Georgia on June 18-19 and in Armenia on June 19-20, Novosti-Armenia reported referring to RIA Novosti.
Kozhara expected to meet with the leaders of the countries, as well as with heads of political parties to discuss pressing regional issues.
In particular, during his meetings Kozhara will address the Karabakh peace process, the Geneva discussions, as well OSCE office operations in Armenia and Azerbaijan.
In late April Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference after his meeting with his Armenian counterpart Nalbandyan that Moscow sees no progress in Karabakh peace process. Nalbandyan agreed with the Russian FM but added there could be a solution.
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-
