All foreign mercenaries must be withdrawn from Nagorno-Karabakh, Baku and Yerevan must support this process. This was stated in a joint statement issued on Thursday by the heads of delegations of Russia, France and the United States, co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group on the Karabakh crisis settlement.
"The co-chairmen of the Minsk Group demand full and immediate withdrawal of all foreign mercenaries from the region and call on all sides to support this departure", Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drien and First Deputy US Secretary of State Stephen Bigen stressed in their statement.
The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group also call on Armenia and Azerbaijan to conclude a long-term and reliable peace agreement. "The co-chair countries call on Armenia and Azerbaijan to use the current ceasefire to conclude a long-term and lasting peace agreement under the auspices of the Minsk Group co-chairs," the statement stresses. In addition, they called on Baku and Yerevan to provide conditions for the visit of the co-chair countries' representatives to start "substantive negotiations to resolve all outstanding issues according to an agreed schedule".
"The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries call on Armenia and Azerbaijan to continue to fully implement their commitments under the November 9 statement in Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent regions and their previous ceasefire commitments. The Co-Chair countries stress the importance of measures taken by the Russian Federation in consultation with Azerbaijan and Armenia to guarantee the non-resumption of hostilities," the document notes.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Alexander Ryumin / TASS
Based on materials from TASS