Baku, Azerbaijan. Jan. 14
Trend:
The OSCE chairperson-in-office and Minsk Group co-chairs discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh mediation efforts in Swiss city of Bern on Jan. 14.
The OSCE chairperson-in-office, Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, received the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Ambassadors Igor Popov (Russia), Jacques Faure (France) and James Warlick (the U.S.) and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Personal Representative, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.
Burkhalter discussed the co-operation between the Swiss chairperson-in-office and the co-chairs of the Minsk Group and expressed his appreciation for their Nagorno-Karabakh mediation efforts.
The co-chairs and Ambassador Kasprzyk also met with the State Secretary of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Yves Rossier.
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 U.S. are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.