Baku, Azerbaijan, March 13
By Maksim Tsurkov – Trend:
Peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the main goal of the OSCE, OSCE PA President George Tsereteli told reporters in Baku March 13.
He said the OSCE is actively involved in the resolution of all conflicts in the region.
“Participation in the settlement and peaceful resolution of conflicts is one of the most important and priority tasks for the PA, and for the OSCE itself,” he said. “We openly declare that, unfortunately, there are shortcomings in many areas, and primarily in frozen conflicts. Regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, we certainly support the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.”
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.