ArmInfo. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group Igor Popov (Russia), Richard Hoagland (USA), Stefan Visconti (France) made a joint statement following the visit to the region.
According to the message, received by ArmInfo, during the visit, the mediators were accompanied by Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk.
"The main goal of the co-chairs' visit to the region is to discuss the sides' position on the next steps aimed at a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict after a trilateral meeting at the level of the Foreign Ministers in Moscow (April 28), and also get acquainted with the general situation in the conflict zone," the mediators said.
The co-chairs note that they held meetings with the leadership of Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as the de facto authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh. "The mediators also visited a number of territories around Nagorno-Karabakh, including Kovsakan, Sanasar, Berdzor and Qarvachar, and also met with the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh in Baku. At their talks in Baku, the co-chairs expressed deep concern over the recent violations of the ceasefire regime that occurred on the eve of their visit to the region and led to yet another casualty on the contact line of the troops. The mediators urged the leadership of Azerbaijan to avoid further escalation of the situation. With the same message, the mediators turned to the Armenian leadership and the de facto authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh. They recommended that the parties explore measures that will reduce tension on the contact line and on the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border," the statement reads.
At the same time, it is stressed that in Yerevan and Baku, the mediators called on the parties to start negotiations on the merits, in good faith and with the political will. They are convinced that this is the only way to achieve lasting peace for the people of the region who need and are waiting for progress in the conflict settlement.
"The presidents expressed their intention to resume the political dialogue with a view to finding a compromise on the most contentious issues of the settlement. The co-chairs will leave for Vienna on July 3 to inform the members of the Minsk Group about the outcome of the visit. They also plan to meet with the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia soon to discuss the terms of the forthcoming work," the mediators said in a statement.