Karabakh conflict: OSCE Minsk Group once again calls for restraint

PanARMENIAN.Net - The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group in a statement on Wednesday, March 29 once again called for restraint from the parties to the Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict in their rhetoric and actions.

Ambassadors Igor Popov of Russia, Stephane Visconti of France and Richard Hoagland of the United States, together with the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, traveled to Baku (March 11), Yerevan (March 27) and Karabakh (March 28).

"The main purpose of the visits to the region was to receive detailed political and military information on the line of contact and the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, to discuss the implementation of agreements reached at 2016 summits in Vienna and St. Petersburg and to address the next steps toward a settlement," the statement said.

The co-chairs met with the presidents and foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia and the authorities of Karabakh. They also visited territories around Karabakh. In their talks, the mediators reiterated their deep concern over recent incidents along the line of contact, calling on the sides to exercise restraint in their rhetoric and in their actions.

"In their talks, the co-chairs stressed the essential importance of continued support for ambassador Kasprzyk's mission and its expansion. The co-chairs also emphasized their conviction that respect for the ceasefire is of the utmost importance for building an atmosphere of trust to enable further negotiations," the statement went on to say.

The OSCE envoys will soon travel to Vienna to brief the members of the Minsk Group.

After meeting the Karabakh president, Visconti said France is ready to arrange a meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents on the issue.