Press Release by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan

PARIS, 28 January 2013 - On January 28, 2013, the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Jacques Faure of France, and Ian Kelly of the United States of America) met jointly with the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, and the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian.  Also participating in the meeting was the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.

The Co-Chairs continued discussions with the Ministers on the working proposal to advance the peace process, which they submitted to the sides in October 2012.  They also exchanged views on possible confidence building measures.

The Co-Chairs referred to their statements of April 14, 2011 and July 13, 2012, and discussed with the Ministers issues pertaining to civilian flights to and from the airport in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Foreign Ministers and the Co-Chairs stressed the importance of the OSCE Minsk Group as the framework for negotiating a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.  The Foreign Ministers reiterated their support for a peaceful settlement and their determination to continue negotiations.  The Ministers and the Co-Chairs agreed to a further discussion of the peace process in the coming weeks.