OSCE Minsk group co-chairs appeal to Karabakh conflict sides to strictly adhere to ceasefire

YEREVAN, YEREVAN, February 20. / ARKA /. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, James Warlick of the United States of America, and Pierre Andrieu of France) issued a statement after traveling  to the region on February 16-19, in which they call on the sides to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to strictly adhere to ceasefire.  

They co-chairs were joined by the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.

The Co-Chairs met with the Presidents, Foreign Ministers, and Defence Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as the de facto authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh.  The main purpose of the Co-Chairs’ visit was to appeal to the sides to strictly adhere to the ceasefire after a dangerous rise in violence in January.

In their discussions with the Co-Chairs, the sides confirmed their commitment to the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.  The Presidents also agreed to consider proposals from the Co-Chairs that could strengthen the ceasefire.

The Co-Chairs discussed with the Presidents and Foreign Ministers next steps towards a settlement, as well as preparations for a future Presidential meeting later this year.

While in the region, the Co-Chairs met with representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to discuss issues related to missing persons as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.  They noted the importance of the agreement reached during the Presidential Summit in Paris in October 2014 to exchange information on missing persons under the auspices of the ICRC.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted into armed clashes after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s as the predominantly Armenian-populated enclave of Azerbaijan sought to secede from Azerbaijan and declared its independence backed by succeeding referendum. A truce was brokered by Russia in 1994, although no permanent peace agreement has been signed.

Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent regions have been under the control of Armenian forces of Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh is the longest-running post-Soviet era conflict and has continued to simmer despite the relative peace of the past two decades, with snipers causing tens of deaths a year. -