The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan reaffirmed their commitment to a peaceful solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and to a cease-fire in and around the disputed enclave, diplomats said at the end of trip intended to rally flagging support for peace initiatives in the region.
Officials of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe spoke with reporters in Baku, the Azerbaijani capital, on Thursday after visiting Armenia and the enclave itself and meeting with leaders on all sides.
“Peace cannot be brought to the region by military means,” said the U.S. co-chairman of the OSCE’s so-called Minsk Group, Carey Cavanaugh. Cavanaugh was accompanied on the trip by his counterparts Nikolai Gribkov of Russia and Philippe Suremain of France.
Gribkov said the Nagorno-Karabakh question was expected to occupy a “proper place” during the meeting of the Group of Eight top industrialized nations in Genoa, Italy next week.
“In this context, our current trip acquires a special importance and we have to provide our leaders with detailed accounts of the talks and impressions we have as a result of this visit to the region,” he said.
Azerbaijan’s President Geidar Aliev, who met with the diplomats Thursday, said he was convinced that a peaceful solution would be the best outcome.
However, “the negotiating process cannot last forever. Further delays in the peace process may lead to a situation that would have tragic consequences,” Aliev warned.
Armenia and Azerbaijan battled for years for control over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mostly ethnic Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan. Armenian forces achieved control over the entire enclave and neighboring areas of Azerbaijan before the sides negotiated a cease-fire in 1994, and Azerbaijan says more than 1 million people have been displaced.
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