Statement on Nagorno-Karabakh to be adopted at OSCE Ministerial Council - Lavrov

Baku / 03.12.19 / Turan: Within the framework of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Bratislava, it is possible to adopt a five-sided statement (the ministers of foreign Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs) on Nagorno-Karabakh. This was announced today by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a press conference in Baku.

According to Lavrov, the statement will summarize the recent work of intermediaries and confirm the previously identified principles.

“Of course, I would like it to be a five-sided statement, if possible. If not, then in any case, the foreign ministers of the countries of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs will accept a separate statement,” Lavrov said.

In turn, the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Mammadyarov commented on the words of his Armenian counterpart Zohrab Mnatsakanyan on the priority of discussing the status and security of Karabakh.

The Azerbaijani side is ready for substantive negotiations. Security issues are also important for Azerbaijan. “It's about the safety of internally displaced persons, so that they return in a calm environment, not at gunpoint. The Azerbaijani population is to return to five regions, then to two, and then to the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Therefore, we asked the co-chairs to prepare a report and state their vision of solving these security issues,” Mamedyarov said.

He expressed hope that the meeting in Bratislava would be the beginning of a new phase in the conduct of the Subject Negotiations. –B06-