Azerbaijan, Baku, July 10 /Trend News, E.Tariverdiyeva/

The G-8 Summit in the Italian city L'Aquila city adopted a joint statement by the presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

"We, the presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group, confirm our commitment to the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement and encourage them to resolve some remaining differences and conclude a peaceful settlement," the statement said.

"We instruct our mediators to provide the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents with an updated version of the Madrid paper, dated Nov. 29, 2007, containing the co-chairs' latest proposals on forming of the basic principles," the joint statement by leaders of Russia, the United States and France said.

The presidents of Russia, the United States and France believe the agreement between the Azerbaijani and Armenian leadership should be achieved on the basis of the principles of the 2007 Madrid Agreement.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.

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