OSCE MG organizing a meeting of Armenian and Azeri FMs in New York
The current regional visit of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs is endeavored after the 5-day war in South Ossetia, French Co-chair Bernard Fassier said.
"Today, I have already visited Stepanakert. Now I am in Yerevan. Tomorrow I'll be in Tbilisi. On Friday, I'll visit Baku. The mediators are arriving by one, but it doesn't mean that the format has changed. It's just a working schedule," he told a news conference.
He informed that the main purpose of the visit is to prepare a meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers in New York. "As to a trilateral meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan is beyond the Minsk Group's competence," he said.
The French diplomat also said that the talks on the basis of Madrid Basic Principles will be continued after the Azerbaijani presidential election due this October. "These proposals were approved by both sides. However, recognition of Kosovo's independence, frequent skirmishes at the line of contact between Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh and presidential election in Armenia retarded the process. We are hopeful that the talks will be refreshed after the presidential election in Azerbaijan," he said.
"Today, I have already visited Stepanakert. Now I am in Yerevan. Tomorrow I'll be in Tbilisi. On Friday, I'll visit Baku. The mediators are arriving by one, but it doesn't mean that the format has changed. It's just a working schedule," he told a news conference.
He informed that the main purpose of the visit is to prepare a meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers in New York. "As to a trilateral meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan is beyond the Minsk Group's competence," he said.
The French diplomat also said that the talks on the basis of Madrid Basic Principles will be continued after the Azerbaijani presidential election due this October. "These proposals were approved by both sides. However, recognition of Kosovo's independence, frequent skirmishes at the line of contact between Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh and presidential election in Armenia retarded the process. We are hopeful that the talks will be refreshed after the presidential election in Azerbaijan," he said.
