OSCE MG co-chairs issue statement on results of their visit to reg.

Regnum, Russia
Jan 29 2007

OSCE MG co-chairs issue statement on results of their visit to region
(Armenia)

After four days of meetings, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs
(Ambassador Yuri Merzlyakov – Russian Federation; Ambassador Bernard
Fassier – France; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza –
United States) are encouraged by the constructive approach of the
leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan as they seek to finalize a set of
basic principles for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Russian Federation Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov hosted Armenian
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister
Elmar Mamedyarov for talks facilitated by the Co-chairs in Moscow on
Tuesday, January 23. The Co-chairs met with Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Wednesday, January 24. On Thursday, January
25, they traveled to Nagorno-Karabakh to meet with NK leader Arkady
Ghukasian. They met with Armenian President Robert Kocharian in
Yerevan on Friday, January 26.

The co-chairs appreciate the efforts of all the interlocutors they
met during the week. It is the responsibility of the presidents of
Armenia and Azerbaijan, with the assistance of the co-chairs, to find
a lasting, peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The
presidents are defending their national interests vigorously, and
they are doing so in a way that allows the peace process to continue
moving forward.

The co-chairs urge all parties to sustain this momentum in the
negotiations and to prepare their publics for the necessary
compromises. At the same time, the co-chairs urge continued pursuit
of confidence-building measures and maintenance of the ceasefire to
increase the level of trust and understanding between the sides.