The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, James Warlick of the United States of America, and Pierre Andrieu of France) and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, attended the meeting.
"We noted with alarm the rising number of incidents along the Line of Contact and Armenia-Azerbaijan border. We also discussed with the Minister proposed measures to reduce the likelihood of such incidents. In particular, it is imperative for the sides to take steps to prevent a repeat of the November 12 helicopter downing," - the statement says.
The violence and tensions between the sides underscore the necessity of starting comprehensive negotiations as soon as possible to reach a lasting settlement. "We urged the Minister to show more flexibility so such negotiations can begin," - the Co-Chairs stated.
Mediators also raised the importance of implementing the Presidents` agreement now to exchange data on missing persons under the aegis of the ICRC.
"This data exchange can build trust between the sides and facilitate the reconciliation process. In addition, we called for the resumption of presidential dialogue at the earliest opportunity," - they said.
The Co-Chairs will travel to the region later this month.
On November 12, two Mi-24 attack helicopters of the air forces of the Republic of Armenia approached and made attack maneuvers in the immediate vicinity of the positions of the armed forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan nearby the village of Kengerly in the occupied Aghdam district of the Republic of Azerbaijan and one of the helicopter was shot down at the very same occupied territory, the Foreign Ministry said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Co-Chairs of OSCE MG call for resumption of presidential dialogue
07 February 2015
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The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group called for the resumption of presidential dialogue, as it was said during the statement of Co-Chairs after the meeting with Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian 5 February in Munich.
