The three co-Chairmen of the OSCE Minsk process dealing with the Nagorno-Karabkh conflict and conflict settlment process have ended their brief visit to the region with a meeting with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliev in Baku. The new French co-chairman of the process, Ambassador Jacques Faure was introduced to the Azerbaijani leader. He will take over from Ambassador Bernard Fassier at the end of the year.
The visit of the diplomats to the region comes on the eve of the Annual OSCE Ministerial Conference which this year will be held in Vilnius on 6 and 7 December. In a statement at the end of their visit the co-Chairmen "urged the sides to use this opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to seeking a peaceful settlement and moving beyond the unacceptable status quo".
source: commonspace.eu
photo: President Aliev of Azerbaijan with diplomats from France, the United States and Russia representing the co-Chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, in Baku on 30 November 2011 (picture courtesy of the Press Service of the President of Azerbaijan).