Finland, Helsinki, 4 Dec/ Trend corr I. Gusatinskaya/ Foreign Ministers of co-chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, the United States and France urged Azerbaijan and Armenia to make efforts in the coming months to complete work on the Basic Principles of the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Foreign Ministers of the of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries Sergey Lavrov (Russia), Bernard Kouchner (France) and US Assistant US Secretary of State Daniel Fried made a joint statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in Helsinki.
"We urge parties to make efforts in the coming months to complete work on the Basic Principles of the settlement and negotiate draft agreement on this basis," according to the joint statement by the Russian, U.S. and French Foreign Ministers read out by the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at conclusion of the meeting in Helsinki.
Armenia has occupied 20% of Azerbaijan's territory - Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. The occupation began in 1988. Azerbaijan lost the Nagorno-Karabakh, except of Shusha and Khojali, in December 1991. In 1992-93, Armenian Armed Forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and Nagorno-Karabakh's seven surrounding regions. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful, but fruitless negotiations.
Ministers called on the conflicting countries to use a constructive and positive impulse coming from the Moscow meeting among the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia on 2 Nov 2008.
In the Moscow Declaration inked as a result of the trilateral presidential meeting, Presidents confirm their adherence to peace settlement of the conflict within the Minsk Group on the basis of Madrid principles, the statement says.
Ministers also called on the parties to the conflict to implement the trust-fortifying measures, to commence withdrawal of snipers in order to preserve the lives of civilians and military.
"The conflict does not have military solution and we call on parties to confirm their commitment to the peaceful settlement," the statement said.
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