Minsk Group plays vital role in preventing renewed war

As one of three Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group, the United States remains committed at the highest levels to assisting the sides of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to reach a lasting and peaceful settlement, a Department of State official has said. Speaking at the OSCE Security Conference on Tuesday, Deputy Assistant Secretary Eric Rubin praised the Minsk Group's role in preventing a renewed war over Nagorno-Karabakh."Although such a settlement remains elusive, the Minsk Group has proven vital to preventing a return to war and to bringing the parties to the conflict closer to a negotiated peace", APA News Agency has quoted the US official as saying. "In January of this year, the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia issued a joint statement in Sochi that committed them to accelerate reaching agreement on the Basic Principles, as well as continuing work on humanitarian contacts and a mechanism to investigate incidents along the frontlines. The co-chairs have worked inten sively to help the sides to implement the Sochi statement, including just last week in their joint meeting with the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Although the Minsk Group has made progress toward reaching agreement on a framework for a comprehensive settlement, important work remains. As the joint statement from Presidents Obama, Hollande and Putin noted on June 18, we have called upon the sides to demonstrate their political will by making the decisions that will allow a peaceful settlement based upon the Helsinki Final Act principles of non-use of force or threat of force, territorial integrity, and self-determination and equal rights of peoples. The United States and its fellow Minsk Group Co-Chairs have called upon the sides to refrain from aggressive rhetoric, which only serves to prolong the conflict and does nothing to prepare populations for peace."   Read more... (299 words)

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