OSCE MG: Leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan accepted the proposal of  the co-chairs to meet soon under their auspices

ArmInfo. Co-chairs of the OSCE  Minsk Group, Igor Popov, Stephane Visconti and Andrew Schofer, after  visiting the region and meeting with the top leadership of the two  countries made a statement.

 As  the press service of the OSCE told  ArmInfo, the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the  Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer  of the United States of America) met with Armenian Prime Minister  Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan on 20 February and Azerbaijani President  Ilham Aliyev in Baku on 21 February to discuss preparations for a  meeting of the leaders in the near future, including possible topics  for discussion. 

The Co-Chairs recalled, that they also held discussions with the  Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in their respective  capitals.  The Co-Chairs were joined by the Personal Representative  of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Andrzej Kasprzyk.

"During the meetings in the region, the leaders briefed the Co-Chairs  on their recent conversation on the margins of the World Economic  Forum in Davos in January.  The leaders and the Co-Chairs discussed  the situation on the ground and their expectations for next steps. 

The Co-Chairs assessed positively the continuing lack of casualties  on the line of contact.  They also welcomed the developing  discussions in the region about preparing populations for peace.

The leaders accepted the Minsk Group Co-Chairs' proposal to meet soon  under their auspices" the statement reads.

The OSCE also informed, that  following their visit to the region,  the Co-Chairs and the Personal Representative of the OSCE  Chairperson-in-Office travelled to Vienna and Bratislava from 28  February to 1 March to brief the Permanent Representatives of the  OSCE Minsk Group countries, OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger,  and OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav  Lajcak.

Earlier, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan at a meeting with  representatives of the Armenian community in Tehran, responding to a  question from one of those present, stated that one of the priorities  of the Armenian government is to increase the level of subjectivity  of Karabakh in the negotiations. "They should meet with the President  of Azerbaijan. It will be a meeting without an agenda, but its main  focus will be a discussion of the negotiation format. Until they  reach agreement on the format, contacts cannot be considered official  talks. I speak on behalf of Armenia, therefore I am the Prime  Minister of Armenia and I do not speak on behalf of Artsakh, because  Artsakh has its own power. We must do everything so that Karabakh  receives a new level of subjectivity in the negotiation process, "  Pashinyan noted.