Baku, Azerbaijan, July 4
Trend:
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Special Representative for the South Caucasus Kristian Vigenin (MP, Bulgaria) was in Vienna today for a series of meetings related to developments in the South Caucasus, including on negotiation efforts related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
In all his meetings, Vigenin stressed the importance of continued efforts through agreed discussion formats, while noting the potential for parliamentary dialogue to contribute to political will.
“The conflicts in the region continue to have a high and intolerable human price. I intend to continue to discuss with my colleagues in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly how we can leverage our political influence to contribute to ongoing official efforts and provide momentum for comprehensive and sustainable peace,” said Vigenin.
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s most important annual meeting, gathering some 300 parliamentarians from across the OSCE region, begins later this week in Minsk, Belarus.
While in Vienna, Vigenin met with senior diplomatic representatives from Armenia, Azerbaijan and the OSCE Austrian Chairmanship, as well as with the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group tasked with finding a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and the OSCE Secretariat.
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.