OSCE CiO reassured by statement on Karabakh

PanARMENIAN.Net - The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis is reassured by the joint statement on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict adopted on December 6 during the 18th OSCE ministerial council meeting.

As a PanARMENIAN.Net correspondent reported from Vilnius, closing the event Mr. Ažubalis expressed hope that the statement will help resolution of the conflict.

He also said he is proud of the steps Lithuania took for settlement of frozen conflicts during its chairmanship in the organization and stressed the importance of renewal of talks on Transnistria.

On the occasion of the OSCE Ministerial Council Meeting in Vilnius, the Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries (Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov, Secretary of State of the United States Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Minister for European Affairs of France Jean Leonetti) and the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov and Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian reaffirmed the importance of reaching a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Noting the May 2011 statement of their Presidents at Deauville, which urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to finalize the Basic Principles for the Peaceful Settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, the Heads of Delegation of the Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries expressed regret that the parties have been unable to take this decisive step. The three Heads of Delegation reiterated that there can be no military solution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and that the United Nations Charter, the Principles of the Helsinki Final Act, and the elements outlined in the joint statements of their Presidents at L’Aquila in July 2009 and Muskoka in June 2010 offer the way for all sides to move beyond the unacceptable status quo to reach a peaceful settlement. In light of the intensive negotiations conducted since the 2007 OSCE Ministerial Council in Madrid, including at the highest level, the three Heads of Delegation urged the parties to give further careful consideration to the proposals that the Co-Chair countries have provided to them.