Baku, OSCE MG to discuss Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

/By AzerNews/

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijani foreign policy head and co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group are scheduled to discuss the settlement process of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Elmar Mammadyarov and Minsk Group co-chairs agreed to hold a meeting in Krakow, Poland on January 27.

Earlier, Mammadyarov has met with Pierre Andrieu, French co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said on January 23.

The sides exchanged views on the process of settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the action plan of OSCE Minsk Group and regional security issues.

Prior to meeting of Azerbaijani foreign minister and the co-chairs, James Warlick, OSCE Minsk Group co-chair from U.S. said the Minsk Group promises to continue at a high level the work with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict parties over peaceful settlement of the problem.

Warlick told Trend that there is no military option to resolve the conflict, noting that the path to a peaceful resolution of the conflict can and must be found at the negotiating table.

He also added that the co-chairs work on the meeting between Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents this year.

Warlick expressed hope that the presidents will keep promises to continue the dialogue given during a meeting in Paris on October 27.

Speaking about the increase of tension on the contact line of Armenian-Azerbaijani troops, Warlick said those incidents are destabilizing the situation and leading exclusively to more violence.

Earlier, he urged the sides to stop the violence along the contact line of Armenian-Azerbaijani troops.

“My appeal to the presidents: stop the violence along the line of contact and commit to negotiations,” Warlick tweeted on January 23.

Meanwhile, Hikmet Hajiyev, the acting spokesperson of Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has responded to Warlick’s call.

“We also appeal to the co-chairing countries of OSCE Minsk Group urging to force Armenian leadership to stop the sabotage actions and withdraw this country’s troops from Azerbaijan’s occupied territories,” Hajiyev tweeted.

Despite calls by the international community to abide by the ceasefire agreement with Azerbaijan, Armenia continues its provocations on the frontline with even more aggression.

Peace talks over the long-lasting Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that emerged over Armenia’s territorial claims against Azerbaijan are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles. However, as Armenia continues to follow non-constructive position, the negotiations have been largely fruitless so far despite the efforts of the co-chair countries over 20 years.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.

Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.