Azerbaijan, Baku / corr Trend K.Ramazanova / The Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan should not refer to the conflict in ways that might worsen the situation, and that could potentially endanger the progress achieved so far, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, said after a meeting with the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group, which negotiates with the Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan for a possible solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The Co-Chairs informed the Minister about current developments on the peace process, which is becoming increasingly complicated due to the upcoming electoral processes in Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2008. The Co-Chairs keep the OSCE regularly informed about their activities. This is the third time the Co-Chairs have met the OSCE Chairman-in-Office in Madrid.
Minister Moratinos has been actively supporting the endeavours of the Minsk Group. He has met many times with the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents and their respective ministers. Last June, the OSCEChairman-in-Office, Minister Moratinos paid official visits to both Armenia and Azerbaijan.
In 1992, at a conference in the capital of Belarus, the OSCE created the Minsk Group to mediate in the conflict and to call for a peace conference. In 1995, in the face of negotiation delays, the group designated the United States, France and Russia to co-chair the Minsk Group, and negotiate a solution to the conflict and the future Nagorno-Karabakh Statute with the Azerbaijani and Armenian Governments.