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NATO interested in resolving Karabakh conflict - OSCE MG co-chair

Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict Materials 17 September 2014 18:31 (UTC +04:00)
NATO’s Wales summit declaration adopted on Sept.5 referred to the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act as guiding principles to resolve the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
NATO interested in resolving Karabakh conflict - OSCE MG co-chair

NATO's Wales summit declaration adopted on Sept.5 referred to the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act as guiding principles to resolve the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the U.S. co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group, James Warlick told Armenian NEWS.am website.

"These principles include the non-use of force, territorial integrity, as well as the rights and self-determination of peoples," Warlick said.

He underscored that the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be based on all these principles, adding that the co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group will continue to collaborate with the conflicting sides to achieve a lasting settlement.

As an alliance committed to the idea of freedom and peace in Europe, NATO is interested in resolving protracted conflicts, including the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"It should be stressed that the declaration adopted during the NATO summit, urged the sides to work on the settlement of the conflict within the defined format of negotiations," he said, adding that the conflicting sides fully agree on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the OSCE Minsk Group format.

Commenting on the initiative to present the resolution and report on Nagorno-Karabakh at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Warlick pointed out that Minsk Group co-chairs are aware of the measures taken by PACE.

"We would like to stress that the OSCE Minsk Group is the format of negotiations recognized by the conflicting sides and the international community. We believe that all sides will constructively collaborate with us to achieve a lasting settlement," OSCE Minsk Group co-chair added.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The two countries 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.

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