​OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair countries stated their commitment to peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict

Baku. 3 December. REPORT.AZ/ Countries of the OSCE Minsk Group stated their commitment to mediate a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Report informs, this was said in a joint statement of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of State for European Affairs of France, Harlem Desir.

The statement said that the sides welcomed the upcoming meeting of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan with the support of the OSCE Minsk Group.

Co-chair countries claim that parties to the conflict must continue talks begun in Sochi, Wales and Paris in 2014 based on the elements of a comprehensive settlement, and to intensify the dialogue in 2016.

The statement also noted the unacceptability of the status quo, given the significant increase in violence on the frontline: "We particularly condemn the use of mortars and heavy weapons and deeply condole losses among the civilian population. We urge the parties to reduce tension and save lives."

In addition, the co-chair countries welcomed progress on exchange of information on missing persons. The sides also sounded the call to return all remaining prisoners.

The statement also referred to the efforts of verbal attacks on the Minsk Group: "We emphasize that the OSCE Minsk Group remains the only accepted format by parties to the conflict. All attempts to criticize the co-chairs only hide main attempts towards peace. We reaffirm our willingness to work closely with the parties to addressing common goals. "