EU special representative invited to Karabakh
10.02.2015,
15:41
The foreign minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) Karen Mirzoyan, who is in Yerevan on official visit, met with the EU special representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia Herbert Salber on Tuesday, the press office of NKR’s foreign ministry reported.
STEPANAKERT, February 10. /ARKA/. The foreign minister of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) Karen Mirzoyan, who is in Yerevan on official visit, met with the EU special representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia Herbert Salber on Tuesday, the press office of NKR’s foreign ministry reported.
The sides discussed opportunities and prospects for cooperation between the EU and Artsakh (Armenian name for Karabakh).
Mirzoyan stressed the importance of free access of EU representatives to Artsakh and invited Salber to visit the NKR to see the realities, according to the report.
The sides talked also about the Karabakh peace process and stressed the importance of the OSCE Minsk Group efforts and the need for supporting them.
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 thousand 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--
