Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec.5 / Trend /
It is necessary to focus on resolving protracted conflicts, News.am quotes OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis as saying at a press conference in Vilnius.
He welcomed the fact of continuation of the negotiations on conflict settlement in Transnistria after a six-year pause, stressing the importance of a meeting held last week in the 5 +2 format. He said it shows that patience proves itself and the result achieved by the efforts of many, laid the foundation for moving forward. Ažubalis said that during Lithuania's accession to the OSCE chairmanship he was told that even a millimeter movement is a success. "I think we have achieved that," Ažubalis said.
Speaking about the forthcoming negotiations within the OSCE Ministerial Council on Dec.6-7, Ažubalis said that the negotiations will be intense. At the same time, he refrained from any predictions saying only that they are going to be very tense.
Commenting on possible meetings to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the meeting, Ažubalis said he does not want to forecast events.
"I do not want to comment on how the meetings will be especially in this vein," he said thereby leaving the issue regarding a meeting on the Karabakh problem open.
Ažubalis said 45 foreign ministers and representatives of international organizations arrived in Vilnius to attend the OSCE Ministerial Council's meeting.
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.