Kazakhstan, Astana, Dec. 1 / Trend A.Maratov /
The progress achieved in resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be continued, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at the Astana summit on Wednesday.
"The progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution should be continued in the future," she said.
The OSCE summit is held in Astana on Dec. 1-2 and bring together presidents and prime ministers from 56 OSCE member countries and 12 OSCE partner countries, as well as the heads of 68 international organizations. The summit has been held six times since the organization's inception in 1975. The last was held in Istanbul in 1999.
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 and the surrounding regions.