Azerbaijan, Baku, October 28 /Trend/
The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group met with the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Paris on 27 October 2012.
The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Robert Bradtke of the United States of America, Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, and Jacques Faure of France) and the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, and the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian attended the meeting. The Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk also participated in the meeting, said in OSCE's statement.
The Co-Chairs stressed to the Ministers the importance of reducing tensions among the parties. They presented their ideas on a working proposal to advance the peace process.
The Foreign Ministers reiterated their determination to continue working with the Co-Chairs to reach a peaceful settlement. The Ministers and the Co-Chairs agreed to a further discussion of these ideas during the Co-Chairs' visit to the region in November.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent 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 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.