Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 15
By Anakhanum Khidayatova - Trend:
To make progress towards a settlement, Azerbaijan and Armenia should uphold their commitment from the Paris Summit to intensify their dialogue and strictly adhere to the ceasefire, US co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick told Trend April 15.
Warlick was commenting on the co-chairmen's further plans to reach the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
A summit of presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia was held in Paris in 2014. However, less than ten days passed when Armenia organized the large-scale exercises in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, in particular, in Aghdam.
"An agreement on the hostage exchange by the sides and information about missing persons was reached at the French president's initiative during a meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Paris in 2014," Hajiyev said earlier.
"Armenia still continues ignoring the agreements and the corresponding appeals of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)," Hajiyev said.
Warlick said that the sides should also agree to enter into negotiations that can lead to a peace agreement.
"The OSCE Minsk Group remains strongly committed to working with the sides on a settlement, it is the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan who ultimately must find the political will to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict peacefully," Warlick said.
"The co-chairmen continue to work closely with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan to move negotiations forward and are preparing for the presidents' next meeting later this year," he said.
The diplomat said that the OSCE Minsk Group is exploring dates for the co-chairmen's next trip to the region.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
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