OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to visit the region

 The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors  Robert Bradtke of the United States, Igor Popov of the Russian Federation,  and Jacques Faure of France) and the Personal Representative of the OSCE  Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, presented their annual  reports to the OSCE Permanent Council on November 8 in Vienna.

The Co-Chairs outlined their activities over the last year during individual  and joint meetings with the sides and trips to the region, as well as  bilateral engagement by each of the co-chair countries and a trilateral  meeting of the Russian, Armenian, and Azerbaijani Presidents in Sochi in  January. They discussed their role in managing moments of tension and  avoiding escalation when violence has occurred, in particular through the  work of Ambassador Kasprzyk and his team in the region.

In addition to their presentation at the Permanent Council, the Co-Chairs  convened a meeting of the Minsk Group. They also met with the Ukrainian and  Swiss delegations in their capacity as future Chairmanships of the OSCE.

The Co-Chairs will visit the region later this month, in advance of the OSCE  Ministerial meeting in Dublin in December. -0-