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1 June 2017

By Rashid Shirinov-Azernws.Az

Further preservation of the status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is unacceptable, said Jean-Francois Charpentier, the French Ambassador to Armenia. The diplomat noted that the OSCE Minsk Group is always active in the negotiation process; the mediators are always in touch with each other and with the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, Armenian media reported.

Charpentier recalled that the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group will visit the region in approximately ten days.

 “The decision should be made by the parties to the conflict; the Minsk Group’s mission is to facilitate the adoption of this decision,” the diplomat said during a press conference on June 1. “Everything possible needs to be done to find a mutually acceptable solution as soon as possible.”

Charpentier also noted that it is impossible to live with ceasefire violations both from human and political points of view.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.

Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

Peace talks mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. within the OSCE Minsk Group have produced no results so far. Despite the fragile ceasefire agreement, Armenia keeps violating armistice with Azerbaijan.