OSCE Minsk Group: "It is a critical period"
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, released the following statement today after their meeting with Serzh Sargsyan:
"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 Serge Sargsian, and the de facto authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh. In preparation for the upcoming meeting of Presidents Medvedev, Aliyev, and Sargsian, 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."
