OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs issue statement

CHISINAU, 9 October 2009 - The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassadors Yuri Merzlyakov of Russia, Bernard Fassier of France, and Robert Bradtke of the United States, released the following statement today:

The President of Armenia Serzh Sargsian and the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev met in Chisinau, Moldova on 8 October at the residence of the U.S. Ambassador. The meeting was organized by the Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Ambassador Yuri Merzlyakov of the Russian Federation, Ambassador Bernard Fassier of France, Ambassador Robert Bradtke of the United States) in the presence of the personal representative of the Chairman-in-Office Ambassador Andzrej Kasprzyk.

This was the fifth meeting between the two presidents in the last ten months and confirmed the positive dynamic of their negotiations. The meeting further promoted elaboration of the Basic Principles for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The talks were constructive and serious, including an in-depth, line-by-line discussion of a number of points of the Co-Chairs' proposals.

The presidents asked the Co-Chairs to incorporate the results of the discussion into their proposals in advance of the next meeting between the two.