OSCE CiO confirms ‘full support’ for Karabakh settlement

May 12, 2014 - 17:11 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, welcomed the statement made by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs in commemoration of the ceasefire that entered into force on May 12, 1994.

He expressed his gratitude to the Co-Chairs (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Jacques Faure of France, and James Warlick of the United States of America) and to Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, his Personal Representative on the conflict dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference, for their mediation efforts.

The Chairperson-in-Office recalled that the ceasefire of 1994 had put an end to a war whose consequences still impair the everyday life of all too many people in the South Caucasus.

Burkhalter joined the Co-chairs in their appeal to Armenians and Azerbaijanis “to take the necessary steps towards peace”. He reconfirmed the full support of the Swiss OSCE Chairmanship for the mediation process led by the Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group.

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke out as result of the ethnic cleansing launched by the Azeri authorities in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 (when the Nagorno Karabakh Republic was proclaimed) to 1994 (when a ceasefire was sealed by Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan). Most of Nagorno Karabakh and a security zone consisting of 7 regions are now under control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.