OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs issue statement

ASTANA, 22 January 2010 - The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs issued the following statement today:

"On January 20, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Ambassador Yuri Merzlyakov, the Russian Federation; Ambassador Bernard Fassier, France; Ambassador Robert Bradtke, United States) met with Armenian President Serzh Sargsian in Yerevan, Armenia. As instructed by their presidents in L'Aquila in July 2009, the Co-Chairs delivered to President Sargsian, just as they had to President Ilham Aliyev during their visit to Baku in December 2009, an updated version of the Madrid Document of November 2007, containing the Co-Chairs' latest articulation of the Basic Principles. On January 21, the Co-Chairs met President Aliyev in Baku, Azerbaijan. In their discussions with the Co-Chairs, each president expressed their commitment to continue to pursue a peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and reaffirmed the seriousness of their side in the negotiations.

The Co-Chairs traveled to Astana, Kazakhstan for consultations with the Government of Kazakhstan, upon its ascension to the Chairmanship of the OSCE. Following their consultations in Astana, they will continue on to Sochi, Russia, where Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will host the next meeting between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia."