OSCE: Armenian, Azeri leaders agree to finalize investigative mechanism

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents agreed to finalize in the shortest possible time an OSCE investigative mechanism in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone, top representatives of the Minsk Group co-chairing countries said in a statement.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and State Secretary for European Affairs of France Harlem Desir met on Monday, May 16 with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Azerbaijan’s leader Ilham Aliyev to advance a peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict.

They reiterated that there can be no military solution to the conflict, insisting on the importance of respecting the 1994 and 1995 ceasefire agreements.

“The Presidents reiterated their commitment to the ceasefire and the peaceful settlement of the conflict,” the statement said.

“To reduce the risk of further violence, they agreed to finalize in the shortest possible time an OSCE investigative mechanism. The Presidents also agreed to the expansion of the existing Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office. Finally, they agreed to continue the exchange of data on missing persons under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to which the Presidents committed during the Paris summit of October 2014.”

“The Presidents agreed on a next round of talks, to be held in June at a place to be mutually agreed, with an aim to resuming negotiations on a comprehensive settlement,” the statement added.