Details added (first version posted on 11:57)
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 12
By Anakhanum Idayatova - Trend:
The OSCE Minsk Group (MG) Co-Chairs call for a highest-level meeting between Azerbaijan and Armenia regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, says the message on the organization's website May 12.
The Co-Chairs of the OSCE MG, ambassadors Igor Popov of Russia, James Warlick of the US, and Pierre Andrieu of France, remain fully committed to mediating a lasting settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the message said.
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.
In light of the recent violence and the urgency of reducing tensions along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the OSCE MG Co-Chairs believe the time has come to hold the meeting, the OSCE website said.
Foreign ministers of the OSCE MG co-chair countries are prepared to facilitate the highest-level meeting next week in Vienna, said the message.
There can be no success in negotiations if violence continues, and there can be no peace without a negotiation process, the OSCE MG Co-Chairs said, reiterating that there is no military solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
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