Minsk group co-chairmen hold talks in Karabakh

The French and U.S. co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group and Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Trubnikov held talks in Stepanakert on 10 July with Arkadii Ghukasian, the president of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), ITAR-TASS and Mediamax reported. Ghukasian expressed confidence that talks on resolving the Karabakh conflict will continue despite "changes in the dynamics of the negotiating process."
Trubnikov stressed that any solution to the conflict must be acceptable to all parties, in the first instance to the population of the unrecognized republic. "We would not like the people here to get the impression that the mediators are trying to impose solutions," he said. The NKR is not officially represented at the "Three-plus-Two" talks between the three Minsk Group co-chairs and the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. On 11 July, the Minsk Group representatives, together with the NKR Foreign and Defense Ministers, visited the formerly predominantly Azeri-populated town of Shusha, where they noted that contrary to Azerbaijani claims, the town's mosque has not been vandalized, according to Snark, as cited by Groong. LF

...EXPRESS CONCERN AT CALLS FOR NEW HOSTILITIES.

Later on 11July, the Minsk Group mediators crossed in Fizuli Raion, close to the Azerbaijani border with Iran, the Line of Contact separating the Armenian and Azerbaijani forces, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. In a communique released as they crossed the Line of Contact, the mediators expressed concern at the fragility of the current state of "no peace, no war," and warned against "irresponsible" and "bellicose" statements and calls for a resumption of hostilities. They said such statements exacerbate tensions and increase the risk of new fighting. LF

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