Successful settlement of Karabakh conflict depends greatly on easing of tension on border, OSCE Minsk Group
26.10.2015,
14:33
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs believe that a successful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict depends greatly on the easing of tension on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, James Warlick, told a news conference today in Yerevan.
YEREVAN, October 26. / ARKA /. The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs believe that a successful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict depends greatly on the easing of tension on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, James Warlick, told a news conference today in Yerevan. He said the co-chairs’ message to Armenia and Azerbaijan is to respect the ceasefire and ease the tension.
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs who have arrived in Armenia today are expected to meet with Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan and foreign minister Edward Nalbandian to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement process. The co-chairs will visit also Nagorno-Karabakh to discuss the problem with its president and foreign minister and then they will travel to Azerbaijan on October 28.
According to Warlick, the most important question that the OSCE Minsk Group will raise in Yerevan and Baku is about alleviating the tension and violence on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and along the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh. The co-chairs are very concerned about this tension, in particular, the use of heavy weapons and mortars by both sides which leads to escalation of tension and increasing violence claiming also the lives of civilians.
He said the co-chairs will discuss with the presidents the elements and the principles of a settlement. He said the co-chairs will seek also to create an atmosphere of trust at the level of ordinary citizens. All of this, in Warlick’s opinion, could serve as a basis for the sides to forge out a lasting peace agreement.
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 a successful 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. –0 –
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs who have arrived in Armenia today are expected to meet with Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan and foreign minister Edward Nalbandian to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement process. The co-chairs will visit also Nagorno-Karabakh to discuss the problem with its president and foreign minister and then they will travel to Azerbaijan on October 28.
According to Warlick, the most important question that the OSCE Minsk Group will raise in Yerevan and Baku is about alleviating the tension and violence on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and along the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh. The co-chairs are very concerned about this tension, in particular, the use of heavy weapons and mortars by both sides which leads to escalation of tension and increasing violence claiming also the lives of civilians.
He said the co-chairs will discuss with the presidents the elements and the principles of a settlement. He said the co-chairs will seek also to create an atmosphere of trust at the level of ordinary citizens. All of this, in Warlick’s opinion, could serve as a basis for the sides to forge out a lasting peace agreement.
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 a successful 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. –0 –
