Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 25 / Trend V. Zhavoronkova /
Now it is impossible to speak about the results of the OSCE summit in Astana concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. But the observed activity gives grounds for hope, EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby, on a working visit to Baku, said.
The OSCE summit will be held in Astana December 1-2. One of the priority issues of the summit will be the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.
"There are issues that are actively being discussed. It gives reason at least to hope that the Astana meeting will lead to something. I do not want to discuss the details of the discussions shortly before the meeting in Astana. It is a sensitive moment of the negotiations, Semneby said.
He said that the fact that negotiations are actively held and that the OSCE Minsk Group is involved means that the process is underway again.
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 seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the United States - 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 and the surrounding regions.