OSCE Chairperson-in-Office slams escalation in Karabakh conflict zone

September 29, 2015 - 11:36 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Serbia’s Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, met Monday, September 28, with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs, Ambassadors Igor Popov of Russia, James Warlick of the United States, and Pierre Andrieu of France, and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, in New York.

Ambassadors briefed Dacic on the latest surge in violence and the talks they have held with Armenian and Azerbaijani officials since. The CiO strongly condemned the recent escalation, offering his condolences to the families of the victims, calling on both sides to show maximum restraint and work towards de-escalation.

CiO Dacic expressed his full support to the work of the OSCE Minsk Group and Ambassador Kasprzyk, and reiterated their call for advancing negotiations on a lasting settlement for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, as well as for implementing confidence-building measures.

Holding the next presidential summit, as has been discussed, would be a good step in that direction, Dacic said.

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.