November 8, 2017 - 17:27 AMT
Karabakh conflict to be discussed at OSCE Council session in Vienna

The Nagorno Karabakh conflict will be discussed in Vienna at a session of the OSCE Council of Foreign Ministers on December 7-8, Report said.

"As in previous years, the Ministerial Council will not have a specific thematic agenda," a statement said.

"The Austrian Chairmanship’s main priorities for the work of the OSCE this year will however steer the debates: Alongside defusing conflicts in the OSCE area, interventions may focus on fighting violent extremism and radicalisation, as well as on efforts to restore trust and confidence in the OSCE area. The Ministerial Council will therefore not have a formal agenda item on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Nevertheless, delegations have the opportunity to refer to the issue within their regular national statement. In previous years, a meeting of the Minsk Group co-chairs also took place on the margins of the Ministerial Council".

The Ministerial Council will be chaired by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (CiO), Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz. As in previous years, the second and third working sessions will however be chaired by the previous (German) and future (Italian) Chairmanships on behalf of the CiO.