Kazakhstan, Astana, Oct. 28 / Trend A. Maratov /
Active mediation efforts are made by Kazakhstan within the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the Geneva talks to stabilize the situation in the South Caucasus, Ural Mukhamedzhanov, Chairman of the Senate of the Kazakh Parliament said at a presentation at the International Parliamentary Conference on "OSCE and CIS: New Opportunities and Prospects" in St. Petersburg.
"One managed to resume the visits of experts of the High Level Planning Group, dealing with the issue of sending peace-keeping forces by achieving the appropriate political decision, for the first time within the last few years thanks to the efforts of Kazakhstan during the OSCE chairmanship", he said.
He also recalled the steps taken to resolve another frozen conflict - Transnistria.
"The consultations on Transnistrian in the '5 +2' format were held under the auspices of the OSCE chairman in May this year", he said.
He reminded that Astana stands for a real settlement of all conflicts by peaceful, diplomatic means, taking into account the interests of all parties of the dialogue.
"The distinctive feature of the Kazakh presidency in OSCE is, first of all, the transition from consultations on specific issues to substantive negotiations. It is primarily concerned to promote the Corfu process, the dialogue on the future of Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian security, which acquired specific forms during the presidency of Kazakhstan, " he said.
A 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 negotiations to resolve the dispute.
Armenia has failed to implement UN Security Council resolutions stipulating the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions.