Azerbaijan, Baku, March 6 / Trend , E. Tariverdiyeva /
The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, Ambassador Yuri Merzlyakov, the Russian Federation; Ambassador Bernard Fassier, France; Ambassador Robert Bradtke, United States, met with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Paris, where they held a working session. They assessed the current stage of the negotiations and considered comments of both the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides on the updated Madrid Principles, which were presented to them by the Co-Chairs in December 2009 and January 2010. The Co-Chairs plan to meet Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian in Paris later this month for a similar discussion, prior to going to the region."
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 7 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 the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.