Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 3
Trend:
It is important to continue positive momentum in the peace process over Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by holding another meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia, the OSCE Minsk Group's US co-chair James Warlick told Trend Aug. 3.
The OSCE MG Co-Chair countries are committed to continuing dialogue between the two presidents and are exploring opportunities to bring them together again soon, he said.
“Although we have no specific plans to travel to the region at this time, we are in regular contact with the sides to prepare for the next presidential meeting,” Warlick added.
The Vienna and St. Petersburg meetings were successful in reducing the violence along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, resuming substantive talks, and advancing proposals to reduce the risk of violence, he noted.
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 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.