OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Issue Statement

YEREVAN, 9 June 2011 - The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassadors Bernard Fassier of France, Robert Bradtke of the United States, and Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, released the following statement today:

"The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Bernard Fassier of France, Robert Bradtke of the United States, and Igor Popov of the Russian Federation) traveled June 6-9 to Baku, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Yerevan.  Joined by Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, the Co-Chairs met separately with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian President Serge Sargsian, and the de facto authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh.  In preparation for the upcoming meeting of Presidents Medvedev, Aliyev, and Sargsian, the Co-Chairs discussed with the sides steps to finalize and endorse the Basic Principles as a framework for a comprehensive peace settlement, as urged by Presidents Medvedev, Obama, and Sarkozy in their May 26 joint statement in Deauville, France.

On June 7, the Co-Chairs crossed the Line of Contact by foot in the Agdam region.  This was the third such crossing by the Co-Chairs in ten months - as many as were completed in the previous sixteen years combined - demonstrating that the sides can cooperate to implement and observe fully the 1994 ceasefire.  In that regard, the Co-Chairs called upon the parties to avoid any provocative actions or statements that might undermine the negotiating process during this critical period."