The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs called on the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to intensify negotiations, according to the press statement following the meeting of Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Armenia's Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The statement says that the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) met separately and jointly with the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, and the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, between 25 and 27 September on the margins of the UN General Assembly.
It was noted that the ministers continued negotiations on the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "The Co-Chairs and the Ministers discussed the situation in the region and sought clarification with respect to several recent statements and incidents of concern. The Co-Chairs expressed deep regret over the continuing and unnecessary loss of life. They cautioned the Ministers about the dangers of escalation, called on the parties to engage constructively in a positive atmosphere, and to avoid inflammatory rhetoric. The Co-Chairs underscored that a comprehensive settlement will require compromises on all sides," the statement reads.
In this context, Mammadyarov and Mnatsakanyan confirmed the importance of taking measures to intensify the negotiation process and to take additional steps to reduce tensions. The Ministers agreed to meet again before the end of the year.
The Co-Chairs plan to visit the region in the near future and will then brief the OSCE Minsk Group and the Permanent Council on the status of negotiations.
