Within their regional visit, Co-Chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group Robert Bradtke (USA), Igor Popov (Russia), and Bernard Fassier were on a visit to the Nagorno Karabakh Republic on June 8-9.
NKR President Bako Sahakian received the mediators to discuss issues related to the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement and regional processes. According to the Central Information Department of the NKR President’s Office, the meeting participants noted that there was no alternative to the peaceful settlement of the conflict. Introducing the position of official Stepanakert, the head of state emphasized that it would be impossible to achieve any breakthrough in the conflict settlement process without the participation of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in all the stages of the negotiation process.
NKR Foreign Minister Georgy Petrosian, Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk, and other officials participated in the meeting.
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“As you know, a few days ago, our three Presidents adopted a significant joint declaration at the Great 8 Summit in Dovile, in which they emphasized that there was no alternative to the peaceful settlement of the conflict. This is a very important fact. They also stressed that it was preferable to approve the basic principles of the settlement as soon as possible in order that the elaboration of the peaceful settlement project could be started”, stated OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairman from France Bernard Fassier after the meeting with the NKR President.
“We discussed with President Sahakian the events, which had taken place since our last meeting in April. From the diplomatic point of view, that was a very tense period. I had a chance to inform President Sahakian about the visits of Ministers Nalbandian and Mamedyarov to Washington. In particular, one of the most important moments at the meetings of Secretary of State Clinton with each of the Ministers was that she emphasized the unacceptability of the use of force. And as the Presidents noted in Dovile, the use of force led to the emergence of the existing unacceptable situation. The use of force will not resolve the issue and will only bring to more deaths and sufferings. And the USA are firmly committed to the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh issue”, said American Co-Chairman Robert Bradtke.
Russian mediator Igor Popov added, “We also spoke about the Russian efforts directed to the soonest accomplishment of the work over the basic principles of settlement. I informed that on April 22, a meeting of the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan and Armenia, with the participation of Sergey Lavrov, took place in Moscow, at which the project was discussed. The next meeting of the Ministers should take place in the nearest future. In the focus of attention will be discussion of the final formulations to be proposed at the next summit in Kazan. We proceed from the fact that the Dovile statement of the three Presidents, in which the soonest accomplishment of the work over this document is noted, will give additional impetus to this work. We hope that the parties will display a constructive approach in Kazan”.