Minsk Group Co-Chairs Release Statement

The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov from Russia, Stéphane Visconti from France, and Andrew Schofer from the United States) have issued a statement following their regional visit.

“French co-chair Stéphane Visconti and American co-chair Andrew Schofer visited Baku on December 12 and 13, and Yerevan on December 13 and 14. In Baku, they were received by President Aliyev and met with Foreign Minister Bayramov. In Yerevan, they were received by Prime Minister Pashinyan and met with Foreign Minister Ayvazyan. Due to the inability of Russian co-chair Igor Popov to travel, the Russian Federation was represented in Baku by Ambassador Mikhail Bocharnikov and in Yerevan by Charge d'Affaires Alexey Synegubov.

The co-chairs also met with representatives of the ICRC and UN agencies operating in the region. The Personal Representative of the Office, Andzhey Kasprzycki, also participated in all meetings.

In both capitals, the parties presented their assessments of the situation and expressed their expectations for cooperation with the co-chairs in the upcoming year. Taking into account the new realities, the co-chairs reaffirmed their ongoing commitment to constructively work with all parties to promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and address existing issues.

The co-chairs also committed to present specific proposals regarding the issues raised during the meetings for further discussions with the parties,” the statement said.