Obama "reminded" Aliyev about the necessity to maintain ceasefire

September 25, 2010 - 10:46 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - At New York meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, U.S. President Barack Obama reaffirmed his support for the OSCE Minsk Group process to resolve the Karabakh conflict, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the ceasefire along the line of contact. Obama stressed the need to find a peaceful solution based on the Helsinki principles of non-use of force or threat of force, territorial integrity, and the equal rights and self-determination of peoples. The leaders also discussed regional security issues and ongoing energy cooperation.

Issues of shared interest and ways to further strengthen relations between the two nations were discussed.

President Obama he expressed hope that Azerbaijan as a young democracy would implement democratic reforms and increase protections for human rights, calling on Azeri authorities to release two jailed bloggers. “Strong institutes of civil society contribute to fostering economic growth and stability in Azerbaijan,” the U.S. President stressed.

The OSCE Minsk Group

The OSCE Minsk Group was created in 1992 to encourage a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The Minsk Group is headed by a Co-Chairmanship consisting of France, Russia and the United States. The main objectives of the Minsk Process are as follows: Providing an appropriate framework for conflict resolution in the way of assuring the negotiation process supported by the Minsk Group; Obtaining conclusion by the Parties of an agreement on the cessation of the armed conflict in order to permit the convening of the Minsk Conference; Promoting the peace process by deploying OSCE multinational peacekeeping forces.