New York, 26 September 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), together with the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, held a meeting on 24 September with the Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian, and a separate meeting on 25 September with the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov. They also met jointly with the two Foreign Ministers to discuss the immediate need to reduce tensions along the Line of Contact and international border, to advance negotiations on a lasting settlement, and to implement confidence-building measures. The Ministers agreed to continue preparations with the Co-Chairs on the next presidential summit, which is expected to be held before the end of this year.
The Co-Chairs called for the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to accept an OSCE mechanism to investigate ceasefire violations. Without such a mechanism, the sides will continue to blame each other for initiating deadly attacks on the Line of Contact and Armenia-Azerbaijan border. Armenia has agreed to discuss the details of the mechanism, and we urged Azerbaijan to do the same.
The Co-Chairs condemned in strong terms the use of artillery that caused additional casualties in the last twenty-four hours. We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased. An escalation of violence is not in the interest of Azerbaijanis or Armenians, or a negotiated settlement.
The Co-Chairs encouraged the sides to implement people-to-people programs to build trust between societies affected by the conflict.
Politics
-
On January 22, the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, and the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, David Lammy, held a telephone conversation.
-
The court records from the trial of Teymur Kerimov, the head of the YouTube channel Kanal-11, were falsified, the declaration distributed by Kerimov's colleagues. “The court documents are distorted. They misrepresented the testimony of citizens. For instance, the victim Leila Almaszadeh stated in court that she had no complaints against me. In court, she said, “Teymur did not ask me for money and did not receive any money from me.” However, the court protocol states that she is complaining about me and demands the removal of illegally recorded videos,” writes Kerimov.
-
As a result of measures taken by the Nizami, Garadag, and Binagadi district prosecutors’ offices in Baku, the funds obtained by several agricultural product exporters have been returned to the country.
-
Presidents of Azerbaijan and Ukraine met at the Economic Forum in Davos on 22 January.
Leave a review