OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Issue Statement

YEREVAN — The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Bernard Fassier (France), Robert Bradtke (U.S.) and Igor Popov (Russia) released the following statement on Thursday summing up their visit to the region.
“The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Bernard Fassier of France, Robert Bradtke of the United States, and Igor Popov of the Russian Federation) traveled June 6-9 to Baku, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Yerevan. Joined by Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, the Co-Chairs met separately with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian, and the de facto authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh.
In preparation for the upcoming meeting of Presidents Medvedev, Aliyev, and Sarkisian, the Co-Chairs discussed with the sides steps to finalize and endorse the Basic Principles as a framework for a comprehensive peace settlement, as urged by Presidents Medvedev, Obama, and Sarkozy in their May 26 joint statement in Deauville, France.
On June 7, the Co-Chairs crossed the Line of Contact by foot in the Agdam region. This was the third such crossing by the Co-Chairs in ten months – as many as were completed in the previous sixteen years combined – demonstrating that the sides can cooperate to implement and observe fully the 1994 ceasefire. In that regard, the Co-Chairs called upon the parties to avoid any provocative actions or statements that might undermine the negotiating process during this critical period.”