KRAKOW, 27 January 2015 - The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, James Warlick of the United States of America, and Pierre Andrieu of France) met with Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov today in Krakow. The Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, also participated in the meeting.
We expressed to the Minister our serious concern about reported incursions across the Line of Contact and the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, resulting in casualties. The rise in violence that began last year must stop for confidence to be restored and progress to be made in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. We called on Azerbaijan to observe its commitments to a peaceful resolution of the conflict. We also call on Armenia to take all measures to reduce tensions. All sides must abide by the terms of the ceasefire agreement. Violence undermines efforts to bring about peace.
We discussed with the Minister possible next steps in the peace process, including comprehensive negotiations that can lead to a lasting settlement which would benefit all the people of the region. We reminded the Minister of our mandates and expressed concern about voices critical of the ongoing negotiation process, the role of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs, and the duties of OSCE monitors.
We emphasized the importance of measures aimed at avoiding unintended incidents along the Line of Contact and Armenia-Azerbaijan border. We also discussed the implementation at the earliest opportunity of the Presidents' agreement to exchange data on missing persons under the aegis of the ICRC.
The Co-Chairs plan to meet with Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian in the near future and then travel to the region.
Politics
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Following statements about Western plots against Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus, Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS), has started to warn Central Asian countries of similar threats. Speaking at a meeting of the Council of Heads of Security Agencies of CIS countries in Astana, he claimed that "the West intends to use surviving terrorists from Ukraine to destabilize Eurasia."
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The board meeting of the "Musavat" party took place on October 7. According to the party's press service, the participation of “Musavat” Chairman Isa Gambar and the head of the organization's assembly, Arif Hajili, at the congress of the European Liberal-Democratic Party (ALDE) in Lisbon, Portugal, was highly appreciated, along with their meetings there. The meeting also discussed the socio-political situation in the country. It was noted that the murder of political emigrant Vidadi Iskanderli in France has raised serious concerns within society, and the relevant French authorities were called upon to conduct an objective investigation and find the perpetrators.
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On October 8, Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold separate bilateral meetings with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan before the start of the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the CIS, Yuri Ushakov, an assistant to the Russian president, as reported by the media. According to him, a trilateral meeting has not been scheduled at this time.
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From September 30 to October 6, a total of 73 anti-tank mines, 159 anti-personnel mines, and 415 pieces of unexploded ordnance (UXO) were reported by the Azerbaijan Mine Action Agency (ANAMA). According to the agency, an area of 2,945.1 hectares was cleared of mines during the previous week.
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