OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs deeply regret loss of life in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

VIENNA, 7 March 2008 - The three Minsk Group Co-Chairmen - Ambassador Yury Merzlyakov of the Russian Federation, Ambassador Bernard Fassier of France and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza of the United States - issued the following statement today:

"The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs deeply regret the tragic loss of life on March 4 along the Line of Contact in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Co-Chairs call on the parties to restore confidence along the Line of Contact and desist from any further confrontations, escalation of violence or warmongering rhetoric.

U.S. Co-Chair Matt Bryza and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, are currently in the region, where they have met on behalf of the three mediators with both sides to defuse the crisis. As of today, the ceasefire has been restored and the situation on the Line of Contact is calm. The Co Chairs call upon both Sides to strictly abide by the provisions of the Arrangement on strengthening the ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict of February 4, 1995.

The Co-Chairs reiterate that there is no military solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The outbreak of hostilities would destabilize the entire region, with calamitous consequences for all involved. The recent casualties and loss of life only underscore the urgent need for both sides to reach to an agreement peacefully through ongoing negotiations under the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

The Co-Chairs call on Armenia and Azerbaijan to redouble their efforts to endorse the Basic Principles for the peaceful resolution of the conflict presented to the sides on the margins of the Madrid OSCE Ministerial in November 2007, and to begin as soon as possible the process of drafting a peace agreement on this basis. The Co-Chairs reiterate their support for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and that Nagorno-Karabakh's status is the subject of negotiations."