Baku, June 8, AZERTAC

“Last days some media outlets question the meeting of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs with the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan during their last visit to the region. In this regard, we would like to note that it was not the first meeting of such format. So far, the co-chairs held a number of meetings with representatives of the Azerbaijani community, as they met with the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh within the framework of their visits to the region. There is nothing surprising there; this is part of the co-chairs’ mandate,” press service of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry told AZERTAC.

“The co-chairs' mandate of 1995 states: "The co-chairmen will be guided in their activities by the principles and norms of the OSCE, the United Nations Charter, decisions of the OSCE fora, including the decisions by the Council of Ministers on 24 March 1992 and particularly the Budapest Summit Decision, and as applicable resolutions of the United Nations Security Council". The co-chairs' statement of March 9, 2019, indicated that through their mediation, in parallel to contacts with Yerevan and Baku, they are continuing their discussions with the interested parties as well.”

“We would like to emphasize that the position of the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as the issue of their return to homelands together with all other IDPs have always been a part of the negotiations. This issue is reflected in the above-mentioned statement of the co-chairs, where “return of all internally displaced persons and refugees to their homes” is stated as a crucial element of the negotiations. It is absolutely obvious that the Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region constitutes an essential part of the negotiations. At the same time, it should be taken into consideration that the negotiations on the settlement of the conflict are held between Armenia and Azerbaijan in accordance with the relevant OSCE decisions and this approach is supported by the Minsk Group co-chairs,” the ministry said.

“Last but not least for those who are still asking questions about what is on the table of negotiations the response is clear, we urge them to read the co-chairs’ statement of March 9, 2019. Then all speculations will disappear,” the ministry added.