Armenia Sees the Settlement of Karabakh Conflict Within the Framework of OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairmanship – FM Mirzoyan

YEREVAN — The Armenian side continues to see the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict within the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship format, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan said during the Q&A session in the Parliament.

“No one has annulled the decision of the conference which saw the establishment of that format, and the decision remains in force,” the Foreign Minister noted.

Unfortunately, he said, the relations between the co-chairing countries are not conducive to organizing a discussion between the three, and added that “we cannot allow a vacuum to be created in that regard.”

The President of Azerbaijan stated yesterday that although the mandate given to the OSCE Minsk Group for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict remains de jure in force, de facto it can already be considered invalid. Earlier, the Russian Foreign Minister said that France and the United States refused to cooperate with Russia in the OSCE Minsk Group.

Two days after Lavrov’s statement, France reaffirmed its full commitment to establishing peace and stability in the South Caucasus region, both on a bilateral basis and as President of the Council of the European Union and Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group. The US also stated that it is ready to participate in peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan in a bilateral format, as well as with like-minded partners, including as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, to help these countries achieve a comprehensive and lasting peace.

Answering the deputy’s question, Ararat Mirzoyan also touched upon the telephone conversation between him and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov, saying that it took place on the initiative of the Azerbaijani side.

“We discussed what has been discussed over the past year and recorded in the results of the meeting of the heads of state in Brussels, that is, the mechanisms for creating a commission on delimitation and border security issues, as well as the presentations of both sides on the start of negotiations on the proposed peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan ”, – said the head of the Armenian Foreign Ministry.