Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 11 / Trend News /
The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Yuri Merzlyakov, Bernard Fassier, Robert Bradtke hope to complete the work over the Basic Principles on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 2010, the OSCE said.
The mediators have visited Azerbaijan today. They met with Azerbaijani President to follow up on the discussions between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan in Munich November 22. As a next step, they also intend to visit Yerevan in early January.
These visits will prepare the way for further meetings between the two presidents in 2010 to finalize the Basic Principles for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the message said.
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.
Four resolutions adopted by UN General Assembly to release the Nagorno-Karabakh region and occupied territories have not been fulfilled up to now.
