OSCE Chair urges Baku, Yerevan to build on positive momentum towards peaceful settlement

The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Slovakia"s Foreign Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak, urges Azerbaijan and Armenia to build on the momentum that has been achieved in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process.

"There is a new momentum; and there are also expectations... What we need to do now is to turn this momentum into concrete steps on the ground," Lajcak, who is currently visiting in the US, told TURAN's Washington D.C. correspondent on Wednesday, Apr 3.

Speaking about the latest developments in the negotiation process, the Chairperson praised the intensified dialogue between the sides, which is facilitated by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

"The leaders [of Azerbaijan and Armenia] have met three times informally, and foreign ministers are meeting regularly... There was an important meeting in Vienna... We must continue to build on this positive momentum," he added.

Earlier in the day, Lajcak testified before the U.S. Helsinki Commission hearing on the Slovakia's chairmanship and its priorities for the OSCE in 2019.

On Nagorno Karabakh, he said, "while there has been some positive developments, we need to see a lot more before talking about real progress."

Speaking about the regional challenges he mentioned Russia"s continued aggression in Ukraine; protracted conflicts in Transnistria, Georgia, and Nagorno-Karabakh among other topics. "Talking to each other is better than talking about each other," he said when commenting on Ukraine/Russia.

Lajcak also highlighted the importance of democratic transition throughout the OSCE region: "We are here to work for safer and democratic region, where every individual enjoys security and individual rights," he said.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.