Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group Bernard Fassier (France), Robert Bradtke (USA) and Igor Popov (Russia) and personal representative of OSCE chairman Andrzej Kasprzyk visited Yerevan and Baku on November 28-30, the OSCE website reports.
They were assisted by Ambassador Jacques Faure, who will replace Fassier in the post. They met Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and Defense Minister Seyran Oganyan. In Baku they met Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Defense Minister Safar Abiyev. The co-chairs expressed devotion to supporting sides in settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The OSCE officials emphasized importance of the cease-fire agreement of 1994. They confirmed that such incidents demonstrate need for investigations along the frontline. The co-chairs discussed additional measures to strengthen trust and efforts for preserving cemeteries and cultural sites.
The co-chairs crossed the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on foot on November 29, met local officials and discussed the situation on the border. They met Azerbaijani representatives from the Nagorno-Karabakh on November 30 and underlined that peaceful settlement of conflict needs to take the right of moved citizens and refugees to be taken into account.
The OSCE MG officials urged sides to use the session of the OSCE Council of Foreign Ministers in Vilnius in December as an opportunity to confirm devotion to a peaceful way for settling the conflict.
The Armenian side refused to take part in the meeting with Azerbaijani communities in Berlin. Baku views it as a refusal of the Armenian community in Nagorno-Karabakh to have dialogue with the Azerbaijani. The meeting was to be held in Berlin on November 28.
One of the main trends for resolving the conflict is negotiations between communities, Ali Gasanov, head of the socio-political section of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration, said on Thursday.
Gasanov noted that Baku attached significance to readiness of the Azerbaijani community to take part in the negotiations. It is necessary to understand the reasons for Armenia backing from the talks. It means they do not want to stop their aggression and use negotiations to drag problems. Azerbaijan has said on numerous occasions that such approach has no prospects. It may cause a military clash at a certain point.
The expert also says that after occupation of Azerbaijani territories and reaching certain goals, official and unofficial structures of Armenia tend to avoid negotiations, trying to drag the current situation.
