Yerevan, Armenia: Armenia and Azerbaijan have confirmed their readiness to continue engagement on proposals regarding a settlement currently under negotiation.
This was said by OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen said in a statement following the presidents meeting in Switzerland on December 19.
According to the statement, the summit created an opportunity for the Presidents to clarify their respective positions during their one-on-one meeting.
‘The Presidents discussed recent violence and expressed particular concern about casualties, including civilians, caused by the use of heavy weapons. The Presidents supported the Co-Chairs’ ongoing work on proposals regarding measures to reduce the risk of violence along the Line of Contact and Armenia-Azerbaijan border, including an investigation mechanism.
The Presidents confirmed their readiness to continue engagement on proposals regarding a settlement currently under negotiation. They also reaffirmed their commitment to the Minsk Group format.
The Co-Chairs remain ready to work with the sides on mediating a peaceful, negotiated settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,’ the statement said.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted into armed clashes after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s as the predominantly Armenian-populated enclave of Azerbaijan sought to secede from Azerbaijan and declared its independence backed by a successful referendum. A truce was brokered by Russia in 1994, although no permanent peace agreement has been signed.
Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent regions have been under the control of Armenian forces of Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh is the longest-running post-Soviet era conflict and has continued to simmer despite the relative peace of the past two decades, with snipers causing tens of deaths a year.
