Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 29
By Seba Aghayeva – Trend:
Azerbaijan doesn’t expect any significant changes in the process of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict from the replacement of the French, the US co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (MG), Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told reporters in Baku Nov. 29.
In addition, Baku supports France’s proposal to hold an expected meeting on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in Hamburg in the 3+2 format (foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Armenia and OSCE MG co-chairs), Mammadyarov said.
James Warlick of the US earlier said he will step down as the OSCE MG co-chair on December 31. France also stated that Stéphane Visconti will take the position of its OSCE MG co-chair soon.
The new French co-chair of the OSCE MG is quite an experienced diplomat, Azerbaijani foreign minister said, adding that they had already met during his visit to Paris.
Mammadyarov noted that the new French co-chair of the OSCE MG is well informed about the process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict’s settlement.
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 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
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