Nalbandian: Provocations hinder efforts of Co-chairs

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received today the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs Igor Popov, Jacques Faure, and James Warlick and Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk, the press service of Armenian Foreign Ministry said.

In the context of the November 19 meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in Vienna and the December 4 talks of the two countries’ foreign minister in Kiev, the interlocutors continued discussions on advancing the Karabakh peace process.

Edward Nalbandian called the Co-chairs’ attention to the Armenian soldier’s death on December 14 in the gunfire opened by the Azerbaijani side in Tavush border zone.

He said that despite the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs’ repeated calls for strengthening the ceasefire, not only servicemen but also civilians fall victim to constant violations of the ceasefire by Azerbaijan at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and on the line of contact between Azerbaijan and Artsakh. The Armenian foreign minister stressed that such provocations hinder the efforts of the Co-chairs and Armenia on the peaceful settlement of the conflict.

The sides discussed the opportunity of organizing a new meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers at the beginning of 2014.