OSCE Minsk Group presents new plan for Nagorno-Karabakh peace settlement

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs presented a plan for the sides to put into action the joint statement made by Presidents Medvedev, Aliyev, and Sargsyan on January 23 in Sochi. Building on the two presidents' joint commitment to accelerate reaching agreement on the Basic Principles, the co-chairs proposed steps to assist the sides in furthering work on the framework for a comprehensive peace settlement, Trend reports.

The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Robert Bradtke of the United States, Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, and Jacques Faure of France) and Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk (Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office) travelled to Yerevan, Nagorno-Karabakh and Baku on March 2-6. The co-chairs met with Presidents Sargsyan and Aliyev, and with the de facto authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh, the organization said.

The Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders Ilham Aliyev, Dmitry Medvedev and Serzh Sargsyan held their tenth trilateral meeting in Sochi in January. They made a joint statement following the meeting.

"The presidents said that the agreement was reached to coordinate fundamental principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as a result of intensive negotiations," the document said. "Taking into account the importance of passing on to the development of a peace agreement, the Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents expressed their willingness to accelerate the achievement of the agreement on basic principles taking into account the conducted work."

The co-chairs also discussed with the sides how to implement commitments in the Sochi statement to continue work on a mechanism to investigate incidents along the frontlines. The co-chairs reported that they have requested, through the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, that the OSCE High-Level Planning Group further develop the mechanism as an important measure to enhance stability and improve trust. In addition, the co-chairs discussed humanitarian and people-to-people contacts, which should be used to promote mutual understanding among peoples of the region, and not be politicized or manipulated to the detriment of the
peace process.

The co-chairs plan to travel to Vienna on March 22 to brief the OSCE Permanent Council on the latest steps being taken toward reaching a peaceful settlement.‬