Joint statement
Joint statement by the Presidents of the United States, the Russian Federation and France on Nagorno-Karabakh
LOS CABOS, Mexico, 19 June 2012 - The President of the United States
Barack Obama, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, and the
President of France François Hollande made the following statement on
Nagorno-Karabakh at the Los Cabos Summit of the Twenty:
"We, the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries - France,
the Russian Federation, and the United States of America - are united in our
resolute commitment to a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. The parties to the conflict should not further delay making
the important decisions necessary to reach a lasting and peaceful
settlement. We regret that the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia did
not take the decisive steps that our countries called for in the joint
statement at Deauville on May 26, 2011. Nevertheless, the progress that
has been achieved should provide the momentum to complete work on the
framework for a comprehensive peace.
"We call upon the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to fulfill the
commitment in their January 23, 2012 joint statement at Sochi to "accelerate"
reaching agreement on the Basic Principles for a Settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict. As evidence of their political will, they
should refrain from maximalist positions in the negotiations, respect the
1994 ceasefire agreement, and abstain from hostile rhetoric that increases
tension. We urge the leaders to be guided by the principles of the
Helsinki Final Act - particularly those relating to the non-use of force or
the threat of force, territorial integrity, and equal rights and
self-determination of peoples - and the elements of a settlement outlined in
our countries' statements at L'Aquila in 2009 and Muskoka in 2010.
"Military force will not resolve the conflict and would only prolong the
suffering and hardships endured by the peoples of the region for too
long. Only a peaceful, negotiated settlement can allow the entire
region to move beyond the status quo toward a secure and prosperous
future.
Our countries will continue to work closely with the sides, and we call
upon them to make full use of the assistance of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs as
mediators. However, peace will depend ultimately upon the parties'
willingness to seek an agreement based on mutual understanding, rather than
one-sided advantage, and a shared vision of the benefits that peace will
bring to all their peoples and to future generations."
