CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers Affirm Support For OSCE Minsk Group Efforts

YEREVAN — The Foreign Ministers of the CSTO member states adopted a statement on Nagorno Karabakh conflict on Monday, expressing support for the agreements reached at the summits of Vienna and St. Petersburg held on May 16 and June 20 “targeted at the prevention of the unacceptable escalation in the conflict zone, stabilization of the situation and creation of conditions for furthering the negotiation process.” The full statement reads:

“We support the agreements from summits of Vienna of May 16 and Saint Petersburg of June 20 over the Nagorno Karabakh issue, aimed at prevention of the escalation in the conflict zone, stabilization of the situation and creating conditions to move forward the negotiation process of the peaceful settlement of the conflict.”

“Affirming the necessity to solve the Nagorno Karabakh issue through exclusively peaceful means, we support the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs to settle the conflict based on international norms, the UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act principles of Non-Use of Force, Territorial Integrity, and the Equal Rights and Self-Determination of Peoples.”

The statement was signed by the Foreign Ministers of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Russia and Tajikistan.