Arka News Agency, Armenia
Jan 30 2007
OSCE MG CO-CHAIRS SATISFIED WITH ARMENIAN, AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENTS’
STANCE ON KARABAKH PEACE PROCESS PRINCIPLES
YEREVAN, January 29. /ARKA/. The Co-Chairs of the OBeSE Minsk Group
are satisfied with the constructive stands of the Armenian and
Azerbaijani Presidents towards the main principles of the Karabakh
peace process says the joint statement of the Co-Chairs reported by
the U.S. Embassy to Armenia after the Co-Chairs’ visit to the region.
The Co-Chairs appreciated the efforts of all the interlocutors they
had 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," says the statement.
The Co-Chairs urged all parties to sustain the momentum in the
negotiations and to prepare their publics for the necessary
compromises. At the same time, the Co-Chairs urged continued pursuit
of confidence-building measures and maintenance of the ceasefire to
increase the level of trust and understanding between the sides.
The Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia Vardan Oskanyan and
Elmar Mamediarov held negotiations on January 23 in the presence of
the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and facilitated by the
Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia), Bernard
Fassier (France) and Matthew Bryza (United States)
The Co-Chairs met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on
January 24. On January 25, they travelled to Nagorno-Karabakh to meet
with the leader of Nagorno-Karabakh Arkady Ghukasian. The Co-Chairs
met with the Armenian President Robert Kocharian in Yerevan on
January 26. N.V. -0–