Headline changed, details added (first version posted on 17:17)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 31
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Russia is making efforts to expand the OSCE observer mission in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Russian Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Jan. 31.
“Russia, together with other co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, actively supports the reduction of tension on the contact line between the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops,” she noted.
Zakharova said several versions of the document regulating the activities of additional observers were prepared within the OSCE.
At a meeting of foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, organized by the co-chairs in Krakow on Jan. 18, the parties were provided with updated proposals, said the spokesperson.
The ministers agreed in principle to the document prepared by the mediators, and some technical details remain, she continued.
The sides still need to agree upon them before the expansion mechanism is launched, added Zakharova.
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.