OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Issue Statement

The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan are set to meet under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group soon. This was stated in a declaration made by the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group following their regional visit.

Co-chairs Igor Popov, Stéphane Visconti, and Andrew Schofer, along with the personal representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Andrzej Kasprzyk, visited the region from May 27-30.

On May 27, the co-chairs met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan, and on May 30, they met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku. In both capitals, the co-chairs engaged in consultations with the heads of the foreign and defense ministries of the two countries. On May 28, the co-chairs met with the de facto authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh. In Baku, they also met with the head of the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh. The International Committee of the Red Cross provided the co-chairs with information regarding humanitarian issues in the region.

The co-chairs' statement indicated that the main purpose of the visit was to assess the developments at the contact line and the international border, as well as to continue discussions held between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Vienna on March 29, and subsequently, between the foreign ministers of the two nations in Moscow on April 15.

At the request of both parties, the co-chairs presented proposals for specific next steps in the conflict resolution process, including humanitarian and security measures. The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan welcomed the co-chairs' proposal for a meeting in the near future and will inform at the appropriate time.

The co-chairs expressed deep concern about the recent casualties and urged both sides to exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation.