OSCE mediators to visit Armenia on June 10: Russian foreign ministry

June 8, 2017 - 15:12 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group will visit Armenia on June 10, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday, June 8.

According to her, the co-chairs will hold meetings with Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan, foreign minister Edward Nalbandian and defense minister Vigen Sargsyan.

"They intend to clarify the situation in the conflict zone, discuss topical issues of the Karabakh settlement process, taking into account the meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan held in Moscow in late April," she said.

"The co-chairs also plan to visit Karabakh."

A week later, Zakharova said, the mediators will fly to Baku, and a corresponding statement summarizing the visits will be published on the OSCE website.

The Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers - Edward Nalbandian, Sergey Lavrov and Elmar Mammadyarov – held a working meeting in Moscow on April 28.

At the meeting, the officials continued discussions on the prospects of the Karabakh conflict settlement talks, stressing the need to implement the agreements reached at the Vienna and St. Petersburg summits in April and June 2016.

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke out as result of the ethnic cleansing launched by the Azeri authorities in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 (when the Nagorno Karabakh Republic was proclaimed) to 1994 (when a ceasefire was sealed by Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan). Most of Nagorno Karabakh and a security zone consisting of 7 regions are now under control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.