OSCE Chairman Steinmeier to Visit Nagorno-Karabakh

Steinmeier met Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassadors Igor Popov of Russia, Pierre Andrieu of France, and Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, the personal representative of the chairperson-in-office on the conflict, in Berlin, OSCE press service reports.

“Steinmeier welcomed the recent improvements in the upholding of the ceasefire. There was agreement among the participants of the Berlin meeting that a sustainable ceasefire and a return to political negotiations remain indispensable. Today’s talks also served the goal of co-ordinating possible further steps towards achieving a settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, also with a view to Steinmeier’s upcoming visit to the region,” the statement read.

The violence in Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani breakaway region with a predominantly Armenian population, escalated on April 2. Baku and Yerevan have accused each other of provoking hostilities that led to multiple deaths on both sides. The parties agreed on a ceasefire on April 5.