OSCE Minsk Group releases another statement on Nagorno-Karabakh issues

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, Ambassadors Igor Popov (RF), Stephane Visconti (France) and Richard Hoagland (USA), held separate and joint meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, Elmar Mammadyarov and Edward Nalbandyan (respectively) on February 16. The meetings were held on the sidelines of the 53^rd Munich Security Conference (MSC) – the OSCE official website reads.

At the meeting, held with participation of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk ,the Co-Chairs discussed with the Ministers the current situation along the Line of Contact and the Armenia–Azerbaijan border.

The Co-Chairs reiterated that there is no alternative to a peaceful solution to the conflict and that war is not an option. They called upon the sides to exercise restraint on the terrain as well as in their public communications and to prepare their population for peace and not for war. The Co-Chairs also called for strict compliance to the 1994/95 ceasefire deals that constitute the foundation of the cessation of hostilities.

The Co-Chairs admitted that the Armenian side’s decision to return the body of Azerbaijani serviceman was a positive humanitarian gesture.

“The Co-Chairs are aware that a so-called ‘constitutional referendum’ is scheduled to take place in Nagorno-Karabakh on February 20, 2017. Although the Co-Chairs note that the de-facto Nagorno-Karabakh authorities view the use of such a procedure as an effort to organize the public life of their population, they underscore again that no countries, including Armenia and Azerbaijan, recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent and sovereign state. Accordingly, the Co-Chairs do not accept the results of the referendum on February 20 as affecting the legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh. The Co-Chairs also stress that the results in no way prejudge the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh or the outcome of the ongoing negotiations,” reads the statement.

The Co-Chairs plan to travel to region in March.