U.S. Minsk Group co-chair arrives in Yerevan to discuss Karabakh peace process
16.09.2014,
15:18
The U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, set up to help Armenia and Azerbaijan to forge out a peace settlement for the Karabakh conflict, arrived in Armenia on September 15 as part of his visit to the South Caucasus region.
YEREVAN, September 16, /ARKA/. The U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, set up to help Armenia and Azerbaijan to forge out a peace settlement for the Karabakh conflict, arrived in Armenia on September 15 as part of his visit to the South Caucasus region.
Writing in his official Twitter page, Warlick also added that on September 16 he will meet with senior government officials in Armenia to discuss the Karabakh peace process.
He recently said that the OSCE Minsk Group expects a trilateral meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia and France in Paris in late October.
The Karabakh conflict started in 1988 when the 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-
