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MINSK GROUP URGES ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN TO SETTLE CONFLICT
Expatica France
http://www.expatica.com/fr/news/french-news/minsk-group-urges-armenia-azerbaijan-to-settle-conflict_216759.html
March 22 2012
The United States, Russia and France on Thursday urged Azerbaijan
and Armenia to show the "political will" needed to find a lasting
settlement to their conflict over Nagorny-Karabakh.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe issued the statement
to mark the 20th anniversary of the formal request to convene a
conference on the conflict.
In a joint statement issued by the US State Department, the three
co-chairs of the so-called Minsk Group said they "call upon the sides
to demonstrate the political will needed to achieve a lasting and
peaceful settlement.
"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," the
statement said.
"For this reason, we urge the leaders of the sides to prepare their
populations for peace, not war," according to the statement.
Armenian forces seized Nagorny Karabakh and some surrounding territory
from Azerbaijan during a war in the early 1990s that claimed an
estimated 35,000 lives and forced about a million people on both
sides to flee their homes.
A ceasefire was signed in 1994, but the two countries have cut direct
economic and transport links and failed to negotiate a settlement on
the status of the enclave.
But the joint statement said "progress toward peace has been made,"
citing joint presidential statements from the Minsk group over the
last three years outlining elements of a framework for a comprehensive
peace settlement.
It also cited a January 23 joint statement by Presidents Ilham Aliyev
of Azerbaijan, Serzh Sarkisian of Armenia and Dmitry Medvedev of
Russia where the rivals pledged to reach agreement on so-called
basic principles.
It said "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."
The Minsk Group was created in 1992 by the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to bring about a peaceful resolution
to the conflict. It is co-chaired by the United States, Russia
and France.
Expatica France
http://www.expatica.com/fr/news/french-news/minsk-group-urges-armenia-azerbaijan-to-settle-conflict_216759.html
March 22 2012
The United States, Russia and France on Thursday urged Azerbaijan
and Armenia to show the "political will" needed to find a lasting
settlement to their conflict over Nagorny-Karabakh.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe issued the statement
to mark the 20th anniversary of the formal request to convene a
conference on the conflict.
In a joint statement issued by the US State Department, the three
co-chairs of the so-called Minsk Group said they "call upon the sides
to demonstrate the political will needed to achieve a lasting and
peaceful settlement.
"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," the
statement said.
"For this reason, we urge the leaders of the sides to prepare their
populations for peace, not war," according to the statement.
Armenian forces seized Nagorny Karabakh and some surrounding territory
from Azerbaijan during a war in the early 1990s that claimed an
estimated 35,000 lives and forced about a million people on both
sides to flee their homes.
A ceasefire was signed in 1994, but the two countries have cut direct
economic and transport links and failed to negotiate a settlement on
the status of the enclave.
But the joint statement said "progress toward peace has been made,"
citing joint presidential statements from the Minsk group over the
last three years outlining elements of a framework for a comprehensive
peace settlement.
It also cited a January 23 joint statement by Presidents Ilham Aliyev
of Azerbaijan, Serzh Sarkisian of Armenia and Dmitry Medvedev of
Russia where the rivals pledged to reach agreement on so-called
basic principles.
It said "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."
The Minsk Group was created in 1992 by the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to bring about a peaceful resolution
to the conflict. It is co-chaired by the United States, Russia
and France.