ATHENS, 1 DECEMBER, NOYAN TAPAN. The Heads of Delegation of
the OSCE Minsk Group, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation
Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Minister of France Bernard Kouchner, and
Deputy Secretary of State of the United States James Steinberg,
released the following statement today:
"The Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair
countries, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei
Lavrov, Foreign Minister of France Bernard Kouchner, and Deputy
Secretary of State of the United States James Steinberg met in
Athens on December 1 with the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan
Elmar Mammadyarov and Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward
Nalbandian.
The five Heads of Delegation recalled the commitments in
the November 2008 Moscow Declaration and the December 2008
Helsinki OSCE Ministerial Statement. They noted the positive
dynamic in the talks, demonstrated through six meetings this
year between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. They
agreed that the increasing frequency of these meetings has
significantly contributed to an enhanced dialogue between the
parties and forward movement toward finalizing the Basic
Principles for the Peaceful Settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, proposed in Madrid on November 29, 2007.
Foreign Ministers Lavrov and Kouchner and Deputy Secretary
Steinberg reiterated the commitment of their countries, as
expressed in the Joint Statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict at the L'Aquila Summit of the Eight on July 10, issued
by their three Presidents, to support the leaders of Armenia and
Azerbaijan as they complete work on the Basic Principles and
urged that the parties complete this work as soon as possible.
They stressed that agreement on the Basic Principles would
provide the framework for a comprehensive settlement to promote
a future of peace, stability, and prosperity for the entire
region.
The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan reported on
progress during the course of this year in achieving common
understandings on points of the Basic Principles. They stated
the willingness of their countries to complete work on the Basic
Principles, as stipulated by the Presidents of the Co-Chair
countries at L'Aquila. The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment
to work intensively to resolve the remaining issues, to reach an
agreement based, in particular, upon the principles of the
Helsinki Final Act of Non-Use of Force or Threat of Force,
Territorial Integrity, and the Equal Rights and
Self-Determination of Peoples."