CSTO Foreign Ministers voiced support for Vienna and Petersburg agreements on Karabakh settlement

Following the summit of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers in Yerevan the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the organization's member countries adopted a joint statement on Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, which reads as follows: 

"We voice support for the agreements reached on the summits on Nagorno-Karabkh problem held in Vienna on May 16 and Saint Petersburg on June 20, aimed at excluding escalation of the situation in the zone of conflict, stabilization of the situation and creation of conditions for reaching progress in the peaceful process. 

Confirming the necessity of exclusively peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict we express support for the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs on the settlement of the conflict based on the principles of the international law, UN Charter, provisions of Helsinki Final Act, particularly related to non-use of force or threat by force, territorial integrity of the states, equality and people's right to self-determination".  Foreign Ministers of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan signed under the statement.

To recall, the Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia met in Saint Petersburg on June 20 2016 at the behest of Vladimir Putin.  Reaching a settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was the subject of discussion at the meeting, which took place behind closed doors.  Following the consultations, the presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan adopted a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to normalizing the situation on the line of contact and giving their approval to an increase in the number of OSCE observers working in the conflict zone. The joint statement also expresses the parties' commitment to putting in place the conditions required for steady progress in negotiations on a political settlement to the conflict.  The presidents made a point of their regular contacts on Karabakh and agree to continue them in such format as addition to the efforts by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs who were invited to the final stage of the meeting in St. Petersburg.  

To note, in Vienna, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev reiterated their commitment to the ceasefire and the peaceful settlement of the conflict. To reduce the risk of further violence, they agreed to finalize in the shortest possible time an OSCE investigative mechanism. The Presidents also agreed to the expansion of the existing Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson in Office.