Statement on Nagorno Karabakh for the OSCE Ministerial Meeting

We are encouraged that negotiations in 2006, facilitated by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and supported by the OSCE Chairman in Office, have brought the sides closer to agreement on the basic principles for the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

We welcome the support of the leaders of the G8 to these efforts, expressed at the G8 Summit in St. Petersburg in July.

We urge Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to redouble their efforts in the coming year to finalize these basic principles as soon as possible.

We call on the sides, with the assistance of the international community, to extend co-operation to conduct an environmental operation to suppress the fires in the affected territories and to overcome detrimental consequences. These measures can constitute significant steps toward restoring confidence between the sides. The OSCE is available to assist.

We also express our continuing support for the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman in Office and his mission to the region and particularly for their efficient assistance to the environmental Assessment Mission and for their ongoing monitoring of the cease-fire. We regret that incidents along the front lines continue occasionally to result in loss of life on both sides to adhere strictly to the cease-fire. A1+