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FOREIGN MINISTERS OF OSCE MG CALLED ON PARTIES OF NK CONFLICT TO ACCELERATE SETTLEMENT
Trend
March 22 2012
Azerbaijan
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the formal request to
convene a conference on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Foreign
Ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, call on the
sides to demonstrate the political will needed to achieve a lasting
and peaceful settlement, said in a joint statement of Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, on March 22.
"We urge the leaders of the parties to finalize the framework agreement
and a subsequent final decision as soon as possible - on the basis of
the Helsinki Final Act, based on the principles of non-use of force
or threat, territorial integrity and self-determination and equality
of peoples, points of the Charter of the United Nations, as well as
norms and principles of international law - that will allow the region
to move beyond the status quo to a more secure and prosperous future,
" the statement said, OSCE website reported.
The peoples of the region have suffered most from the consequences of
war, and any delay in reaching a settlement will only prolong their
hardships. A new generation has come of age in the region with no
first-hand memory of Armenians and Azeris living side by side, and
prolonging these artificial divisions only deepens the wounds of war.
For this reason, we urge the leaders of the sides to prepare their
populations for peace, not war.
"How Presidents Obama, Medvedev and Sarkozy confirmed in a joint
statement in Deauville on May 24, 2011, only a negotiated settlement
can lead to peace, stability and reconciliation, and any attempt to
use force to resolve the conflict will bring instability in the region,
which suffers from uncertainty for too long," the statement said.
Progress toward peace has been made. The joint statements of our three
Presidents at L'Aquila in 2009, Muskoka in 2010, and Deauville in 2011
outlined elements of a framework for a comprehensive peace settlement.
Recently, the January 23, 2012, joint statement in Sochi, Russia, by
Presidents Aliyev, Sargsyan, and Medvedev expressed the commitment
of the two sides to accelerate reaching agreement on the Basic
Principles. We urge the leaders of the sides to complete work as soon
as possible on the framework agreement and subsequent final settlement
- based on the Helsinki Final Act principles of non-use or threat of
force, territorial integrity, and self-determination and equal rights
of peoples; the United Nations Charter; and norms and principles of
international law - which will allow the entire region to move beyond
the status quo toward a more secure and prosperous future."
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. -
are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.
Trend
March 22 2012
Azerbaijan
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the formal request to
convene a conference on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Foreign
Ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, call on the
sides to demonstrate the political will needed to achieve a lasting
and peaceful settlement, said in a joint statement of Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, on March 22.
"We urge the leaders of the parties to finalize the framework agreement
and a subsequent final decision as soon as possible - on the basis of
the Helsinki Final Act, based on the principles of non-use of force
or threat, territorial integrity and self-determination and equality
of peoples, points of the Charter of the United Nations, as well as
norms and principles of international law - that will allow the region
to move beyond the status quo to a more secure and prosperous future,
" the statement said, OSCE website reported.
The peoples of the region have suffered most from the consequences of
war, and any delay in reaching a settlement will only prolong their
hardships. A new generation has come of age in the region with no
first-hand memory of Armenians and Azeris living side by side, and
prolonging these artificial divisions only deepens the wounds of war.
For this reason, we urge the leaders of the sides to prepare their
populations for peace, not war.
"How Presidents Obama, Medvedev and Sarkozy confirmed in a joint
statement in Deauville on May 24, 2011, only a negotiated settlement
can lead to peace, stability and reconciliation, and any attempt to
use force to resolve the conflict will bring instability in the region,
which suffers from uncertainty for too long," the statement said.
Progress toward peace has been made. The joint statements of our three
Presidents at L'Aquila in 2009, Muskoka in 2010, and Deauville in 2011
outlined elements of a framework for a comprehensive peace settlement.
Recently, the January 23, 2012, joint statement in Sochi, Russia, by
Presidents Aliyev, Sargsyan, and Medvedev expressed the commitment
of the two sides to accelerate reaching agreement on the Basic
Principles. We urge the leaders of the sides to complete work as soon
as possible on the framework agreement and subsequent final settlement
- based on the Helsinki Final Act principles of non-use or threat of
force, territorial integrity, and self-determination and equal rights
of peoples; the United Nations Charter; and norms and principles of
international law - which will allow the entire region to move beyond
the status quo toward a more secure and prosperous future."
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. -
are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.