Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov.9 / Trend, S.Dadashova /
The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Robert Bradtke of the United States, Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, and Jacques Faure of France) and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, presented their annual reports to the OSCE Permanent Council on November 8 in Vienna, OSCE's official website reported on Friday.
The Co-Chairs outlined their activities over the last year during individual and joint meetings with the sides and trips to the region, as well as bilateral engagement by each of the co-chair countries and a trilateral meeting of the Russian, Armenian, and Azerbaijani Presidents in Sochi in January. They discussed their role in managing moments of tension and avoiding escalation when violence has occurred, in particular through the work of Ambassador Kasprzyk and his team in the region.
In addition to their presentation at the Permanent Council, the Co-Chairs convened a meeting of the Minsk Group. They also met with the Ukrainian and Swiss delegations in their capacity as future Chairmanships of the OSCE.
The Co-Chairs will visit the region later this month, in advance of the OSCE Ministerial meeting in Dublin in December.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the 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.