U.S. Ambassador Matthew Bryza, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair, stated in an exclusive interview for Trend that the OSCE is the ideal forum from which to continue the settlement negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He was commenting on the possible involvement of other international organizations, such as the Council of Europe, United Nations and other organizations in the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh.
The diplomat stressed that statements by other international groups and bodies that reinforce the OSCE Minsk Group process and the Co-Chairs' Basic Principles may certainly be helpful. The leaders of the G8 countries issued such a statement in St Petersburg in July, he added.
Bryza recalled that more recently, the UN and OSCE worked together to bring about an OSCE-led assessment mission of the wild fires in and around Nagorno-Karabakh with joint participation of Azerbaijani and Karabakh-Armenian experts. I consider that kind of co-operation to be a positive sign, and I hope we'll see the two sides agree to more of these kinds of confidence-building measures in the future, he stated.
We were encouraged by the positive mood and open-minded spirit of the two Foreign Ministers in their recent discussions, as well as their commitment to continue discussions based on the Co-Chairs' Basic Principles, he said.
The diplomat voiced his belief that the basic principles represent a fair, balanced, workable solution for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and hoped that the two sides will embrace those principles - perhaps with some minor modifications and improvements based on their own input - as the basis for enduring peace in the region.