The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassadors Yury Merzlyakov of Russia, Bernard Fassier of France, and Robert Bradtke of the United States will meet Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian in Luxembourg October 25-27, says the statement by the Co-Chairs, released at the official website of organization on Friday.
"The Co-Chairs will also travel to Luxembourg October 25-27 to meet Armenian Foreign Minister Nalbandian and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Mammadyarov. They will address plans for their next trip to Baku and Yerevan in November and preparation for discussion of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement at the OSCE Ministerial Council in December 2009", the statement says.
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.
According to statement, the Co-Chairs attended a "Retreat on OSCE Mediation Activities" hosted October 22-23 by the OSCE Conflict Prevention Center in Vienna, Austria. After the retreat, the Co-Chairs provided a quarterly briefing to the OSCE Minsk Group.
"On the margins of the retreat, each Ambassador individually participated in different bilateral meetings with a variety of interlocutors, including, among others, Greek Ambassador Marinaki, representing the OSCE Chairman-in-Office; OSCE Secretary General Perrin de Brichambaut; Armenian Ambassador Hovakimian; Azerbaijani Ambassador Ismayilov; Kazakh Ambassador Abdrakhmanov; Swedish Ambassador Bard-Bringeus, representing the EU presidency; and Turkish Deputy Undersecretary Cevikoz", the statement says.