Kazakhstan, Astana, Nov. 28 /Trend, A.Marat/
For the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, the constructive approach and spirit of both sides are necessary, so that it would be possible to achieve peace in the region, and this is the target of the Minsk Group and the OSCE Chairman, the OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut said to a press conference in Astana on Sunday.
"It is time to turn the page so that the two neighboring countries can live in an atmosphere of friendship and cooperation. It is necessary to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," said De Brichambaut.
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 seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the United States - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
According to the Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Konstantin Zhigalov, who also attended the press conference, since the beginning of its chairmanship to the OSCE, Kazakhstan has visited the areas of protracted conflicts.
"We have consistently visited Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia, attaching great importance to this issue," Zhigalov said, noting that discussions on the problem move very difficultly on some directions, although much has been done.
According to him, the Minsk Group plays an essential role in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, and today the representatives of the Minsk Group arrived in Astana, and are actively working to find formulas for protracted conflict.
"I hope that in the remaining days, we will also come to a consensus formula, since all the OSCE member countries understand that we need to increase capacity in the early settlement of the conflicts. We will strive to certain attempts to make a positive contribution so that the Nagorno-Karabakh issue finds its true reflection in the summit documents, and we hope that we will succeed," Zhigalov said.