The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Serbia's Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić, received in Belgrade today the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, James Warlick of the United States of America and Pierre Andrieu of France, as well as the Representatives of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, his Personal Representative on the conflict dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, and his Special Representative for the South Caucasus, Ambassador Angelo Gnädinger, OSCE reported.
Dačić pledged the support of Serbia's OSCE Chairmanship to his Representatives and the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group, expressing his appreciation for their work.
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 two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.