Karabakh status quo can't go on forever, OSCE chief says

 June 29, 2016 - 22:04 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - A long-term preservation of status quo in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is impossible, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter-Steinmeier said Wednesday, June 29.

Steinmeier met with Armenian foreign policy chief Edward Nalbandian in Yerevan. The diplomats then gave a press conference on the outcome of the meeting and answered the journalists' questions.

"The current situation may trigger escalation," the German diplomat said.

"We should do our utmost to avoid such a development. The OSCE makes every effort in this direction to resolve the conflict peacefully."

According to him, the meetings between the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents helped calm the situation along the frontline.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Azeri leader Ilham Aliyev met on June 20 in Saint Petersburg to address the conflict, with Russian President Vladimir Putin mediating the talks. The Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents confirmed their commitment to the implementation of agreements reached at a Vienna-hosted meeting on May 16. To that end, they have agreed to increase the number of international observers in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone. Also, they expressed satisfaction that the ceasefire was now holding.

Prior to that, a meeting between both leaders was organized on May 16 in Vienna, with top diplomats from the MG co-chairing countries hosting the summit.

"We are on the right way," he said.

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