Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
March 8 2008
OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs deeply regret loss of life in Nagorno
Karabakh conflict
[ 08 Mar 2008 12:14 ]
Baku.Tamara Grigoryeva – APA. OSCE Office in Baku told APA that the
three Minsk Group Co-Chairmen – Ambassador Yury Merzlyakov of the
Russian Federation, Ambassador Bernard Fassier of France and Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza of the United States had
issued the following statement:
"The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs deeply regret the tragic loss of life
on March 4 along the Line of Contact in the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. The Co-Chairs call on the parties to restore confidence
along the Line of Contact and desist from any further confrontations,
escalation of violence or warmongering rhetoric.
U.S. Co-Chair Matthew Bryza and the Personal Representative of the
OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, are currently
in the region, where they have met on behalf of the three mediators
with both sides to defuse the crisis. As of today, the ceasefire has
been restored and the situation on the Line of Contact is calm. The
Co Chairs call upon both Sides to strictly abide by the provisions of
the Arrangement on strengthening the ceasefire in the
Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict of February 4, 1995.
OSCE Office in Baku told APA that the Co-Chairs reiterated that there
was no military solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The
outbreak of hostilities would destabilize the entire region, with
calamitous consequences for all involved. The recent casualties and
loss of life only underscore the urgent need for both sides to reach
to an agreement peacefully through ongoing negotiations under the
mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.
The Co-Chairs call on Armenia and Azerbaijan to redouble their
efforts to endorse the Basic Principles for the peaceful resolution
of the conflict presented to the sides on the margins of the Madrid
OSCE Ministerial in November 2007, and to begin as soon as possible
the process of drafting a peace agreement on this basis. The
Co-Chairs reiterate their support for Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity and that Nagorno-Karabakh’s status is the subject of
negotiations."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress